Accidentally In Love

Hello, hello! Thanks so much to marauderfan, Pottergirl654, Temery, MissGryffindor, and Rayven for feedback on the most recent chapter. I love reading your thoughts----thank you! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

It was the middle of the week before Valentines and Lily and Hugo could be found working on their Arithmancy homework on Wednesday night. Dinner time was closing in on them and they were hurrying to finish, since the homework required using some data from a library book. They were both so engrossed in the work, only occasionally speaking, that neither noticed someone standing beside their table. In fact, she had to clear her throat twice before she was noticed.

Lily looked up and annoyance flared when she saw Brighton, a girl Hugo had enjoyed some snogging sessions with at the start of the year, standing at their table clearing her throat. If Hugo noticed her, he didn’t let on, so Lily, wanting the girl gone so she could finish her assignment in peace, gave her cousin a swift kick under the table.

“Merlin Lils, what was that for?” Hugo grumbled without looking up from the book. Lily kicked him again and this time his eyes tore from the book and looked into Lily’s. She rolled her eyes and tilted her head to Brighton, who was grinning like a bimbo. Hugo looked from Lily to Brighton and his expression changed from slightly annoyed with Lily to annoyed at Brighton. “Oh,” he said flatly, “hello Brighton.”

Lily noticed he didn’t call her “Bright” which he had called her earlier during their brief snogging stint. She wondered when the last time Hugo had actually talked to the girl was. The year had been full of drama and Lily just now realized that Hugo hadn’t been caught snogging anyone in a very long time. The longest time of his Hogwarts life, she supposed.

“Hi Hugh,” Brighton giggled and Lily had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She decided to just focus on her Arithmancy, although she couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” Lily could tell she was trying to be coy but was just coming off desperate.

“Yeah,” Hugo said dismissively and Lily snuck a glance at him and saw he was looking at his books and not the girl. After a moment he gave a sigh and must have decided against rudeness, because he looked up again. “I’ve been busy,” he sounded bored.

“Well, I’ve missed you!” She simpered and gave her best pouty face. “I haven’t seen you in so long,” she reached down and put her arms around his neck and Lily saw him make his hands into fists. He looked up and met her face, his not looking happy in the least. He gently but firmly moved her hands and pushed them back toward her. She stuck her lower lip out and he rolled his eyes.

“You look about six years old when you do that,” he shook his head, “it’s not becoming.”

Lily had to look at the girl now, curiosity getting the best of her. She wanted to see how she reacted to Hugo’s rejection. Brighton narrowed her eyes, but only for a moment. Almost before Lily really noticed the narrowing, she had put another smile on her face, although this one didn’t reach her eyes.

“Do you have a date for Hogsmeade Saturday?” She tried, and failed, to sound off hand with the question.

“Yep,” he looked back at his work and started scratching numbers on the parchment in an obvious attempt to get her to leave.

“You do?” She seemed shocked. “But, it’s Valentines.”

“Right,” Hugo said slowly, looking at her again with a look that spoke volumes of his annoyance.

“You’re taking someone else for the Valentine’s visit to the village?”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

“Who?” She asked suspiciously.

“Landon Green,” Hugo deadpanned and Lily couldn’t stop the giggle from escaping her lips. This time, Brighton narrowed her eyes and gave him a jealous glare.

“You’re turning me down to go with your mate?”

“No,” Hugo gave a frustrated huff, “you never asked me to go, I never asked you, and I want to go with my mate. We’re both really looking forward to it,” he looked at Lily and they both couldn’t stand it anymore and burst out laughing.

“Are you making fun of me?” Brighton whined.

“No, I’m just saying that you’re not my Valentine,” Hugo said, returning her glare. “We’ve got to keep working, so see you around.” He didn’t wave or even really acknowledge her and she took the hint and sulked off. Once she was gone, Lily gave him a playful smack.

“That was a bit mean,” although the grin on her face said she wasn’t too torn up about it.

“Nah,” Hugo waved a hand, “you’ve got to be a bit rude with girls like that or they never take the hint.”

For moment they just sat in silence, Hugo still scratching the data on his parchment. Lily regarded him for a few minutes, thinking about what he’d said. She wondered if he was really going to Hogsmeade with Landon or if that was just an excuse to get Brighton off his back.

“Are you really going to Hogsmeade with Landon?”

“Yep,” he looked up, “we’re going to meet up with Fred at the shop and look at a new product Uncle George is putting on the shelves. Mike would come too but he’ll be busy with Roxy,” Hugo rolled his eyes. “Are you going to say yes to Jase?”

“Oh!” The question took her by surprise. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said quietly. Hugo looked at her a few seconds, the just nodded.

“Given any more thought to what you want to do when you leave?” He asked her, obviously wanting a change of topic.

“I have, actually,” he raised his eyebrows at her, “I think I want to be a Healer.”

He cocked his head at her thoughtfully. “You’d make a good one Lils,” he grinned at her. “You can treat all my burns!” She gave a small laugh.

“So, you’re decided then? About being a Dragon trainer?”

“Yes,” he said without a hint of doubt, “I really want to. Uncle Charlie and I have been writing and we’re going to sit down and talk at Easter since he wasn’t home for Christmas this year.”

“That’s good,” she said quietly. She wanted Hugo to be happy, but working with Uncle Charlie meant living in Romania. She would miss him terribly.

“I hate to say it,” Hugo gave her a cheeky grin, “but I told you not to take so many!”

“I know you did,” she rolled her eyes, “but I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I wanted to be covered. Plus, it’s only one more class than you have.”

“I would have assumed you needed Care of Magical Creature to be able to identify different bites and creature related injuries.”

“Yes, but my O on my O.W.L. in the subject is sufficient to get into the training program.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought,” he seemed surprised.

“Yes,” she said simply.

“I hate that I’ll be losing you in the only two classes we have just us,” he said sadly.

“I hate that too,” she reached out and covered his hand with hers, “but I need to really focus on the classes I need.”

“I understand,” he looked thoughtful, “I might drop Astronomy as well, then I’d only have five classes also.”

Lily counted on her fingers. “Five? What other class are you dropping?”

“Herbology,” Hugo said with genuine regret. “I really enjoy the class, but I don’t need it.”

Lily nodded and contemplated how much was going to change next year. They were going to be in class less, but she was certain their workload would be more. She would miss having time with just Hugo in Astronomy and Arithmancy, but she knew it was for the best. She was just losing herself in thought when she heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, she saw Roxy and Mike walking to their table.

“Hi!” Roxy said brightly and Lily and Hugo both said the same. “Lily, Dana wanted to meet in our dorm before dinner,” Roxy told her.

“Oh, right,” Lily gathered all her things and patted Hugo on the back as she stood up. “See you at dinner then,” Hugo winked at her, making her laugh. She left with Roxy, the two girls coming up with a plan to keep Dana from falling into depression over Hugo not asking her to Hogmeade. Lily told Roxy about him planning to go with Landon, so they brainstormed how to help their friend all the way to the Tower.

Scorpius really wanted to just go to his room and have a lie down, but he needed to look up a few things of reference in the Library. He walked in and headed to the Potions section, noticing Hugo and Mike sitting at a table alone. Once he located the book he needed, Positively Perfect Potions, he stopped at their table.

“Hi Scorpius!” Hugo said, “Have a seat.”

He decided chatting with them for a few minutes before dinner would be alright, so he sat down.

“What are you working on?” He asked them.

“I just finished Arithmancy,” Hugo stated as he slid he books into his bag, “but we’re about to go. Mike is almost done with his drawing of a Chizpurfle for Care of Magical Creatures.”

Scorpius looked at him strangely. “How are you supposed to draw a picture of a magical parasite?”

“I dunno,” Mike grinned and held up his paper, “like this.”

“Oh, I made mine green,” Hugo said interestedly.

“I went with grey,” Mike shrugged.

“So you basically just made up what you thought it looked it,” Scorpius said incredulously.

“Well, it is Hagrid you know,” Hugo said as if this explained everything. “We looked at one that had nestled in a Hippogriffs feathers, but only with magical magnification, so it’s not exact, but we’ve got a bit of an idea,” both boys grinned and Scorpius just shook his head.

“Whatever you say,” he muttered. A part of him wished he were back in his sixth year of school, worrying about homework and anticipating Quidditch and holidays. At the moment he would give almost anything to feel so carefree again.

The three of them stood up once Mike had packed his bag and they headed for dinner.

“I wish it wasn’t so bloody cold,” Hugo grumbled, “I’m dying for a fly!”
Scorpius couldn’t help but laugh, although it came out a bit mirthless as he felt a pang of wishing for such problems.

“It would be nice, but I think you would die if you tried to fly in this weather,” he pointed out and Hugo laughed.

“You’re a poet and didn’t know it mate,” he grinned and Scorpius shook his head.

They had reached the Great Hall, so he said goodbye and sat by Teddy at the staff table. Things with Teddy had been slightly awkward since their conversation a few days ago, but Scorpius could tell the older man was attempting to just forget about it, and he appreciated that.

“Good day Scorpius?” Teddy asked as he swallowed a bite.

“It’s been alright,” he offered a small smile, “nothing much to say about it really.”

“Same here,” Teddy said and smiled, “I’m heading to my house after I eat. I’m going to spend some time with little Remus while Victoire goes out with her sister.”

“That sounds nice,” Scorpius said offhandedly and was glad when Professor McGonagall sat on the other side of Teddy and asked him a question.

Gazing around the room, he watched students eating and laughing, a small food fight seemed to have broken out among some of the younger Ravenclaws, who were sneaking looks at the staff table before throwing food at each other. He watched the Slytherin Quidditch team arrive together. He knew they hadn’t been practicing, but it seemed they had met before dinner because Flint, the captain, had the playbook tucked under his arm. Slytherin was only ten points below Gryffindor in the race for the cup right now. Winning was doable, and he knew Flint would be doing all he could to win.

His eyes finally Lily and he felt a pang in his stomach as he watched her laugh at something Roxy was doing with her hands. He wished things were different, but for now he felt like ignoring her was the best way to go. She was too seductive, without even trying, and he felt she could easily lure him away from what was important right now. He hastily looked back at his plate and practically shoveled food in his mouth, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be in his own room. The Firewhisky was calling his name.

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Chapter Forty

Scorpius was in a foul mood. His first two weeks back had been wonderful and he had felt so loved and needed here at school. He had enjoyed laughing with students and although he hadn’t had any interaction with Lily, he had spent some time with Hugo and Mike, the former bemoaning the lack of Quidditch because of the frigid weather.

Today, however, hadn’t been a good day.

In his room, in an uncharacteristic fit of temper he tore his robe off and threw it on the floor. Marching over to his desk, he poured a glass of Firewhisky, sat down roughly in the chair and drained the glass. Pouring himself another one he grabbed the letter that had been an unpleasant start to his day.

Scanning it again he sipped his drink this time, not downing it in one gulp. He felt his throat burn and he could feel the effects of the alcohol working through him and he liked it. He reread the letter and felt angry all over again and decided to top off his drink, almost spilling it in the process.

The letter was from the Ministry, stating that he would not be allowed to sell Malfoy Manor. Seething he reread the words that made his blood boil.

Lucius Malfoy, said owner, as part of his paid repercussions for his participation in the Second Wizarding War against the Dark Lord Voldemort---he wondered if the typist had hesitated in typing out that name. With a gulp of his drink and a snort, he decided she probably did. He continued to read: in opposition to the Ministry for Magic has given the deed to the property over to said Ministry. It was agreed upon that he would retain a residence there but at the time of his death the property would be turned over to the Ministry. This agreement is in regards to the monetary portion of his retribution for Treason against the Ministry and is in writing, a copy of which has come along with this letter. If you have any further questions please contact Bertie Reynolds, director of the Department Concerning Magical Properties.

The bloody sodding Ministry was taking possession of Malfoy Manor. A house that had been in his family for centuries was going to be possessed by the establishment. It was an outrage really, and the fact that he felt this way truly said something for he didn’t hold a lot of pride in his surname. He should have known better than to think that all it took was testimony from Harry Potter to keep his family from Azkaban. He downed the rest of his drink and poured another one. His grandfather had bought his way out of jail twice---for the same crime. He gave a bitter laugh; what a legacy he had been handed.

Sipping his drink his face warmed from the heat of his rage (and the alcohol now percolating throughout his bloodstream) as another thought crashed into him. His grandmother hadn’t been mentioned in the letter at all. It appeared his grandfather had made no arrangement for her to keep the house should he precede her in death. Of course not; to the old pureblood families, which he came from on all sides, the women were there to produce heirs to the pureblood fortune. Nothing more; they were merely a means to a hereditary end and why should she have had a right to Malfoy Manor? Certainly his father would have cared for her, but he was gone too. Bloody Addac Dearborne had made that a reality. All the responsibility to care for his family fell on his shoulders.

A soft knock sounded on the door. He whipped around and downed his third glass of Firewhisky and placed the glass on his small table. He turned and, his mind not completely clear, and opened the door roughly, slightly tripping as he did so. He didn’t know who he was expecting to see, but it definitely wasn’t her. Lily Potter stood in front of him, looking confused a bit nervous.

“Wha---I mean, yes?” He said tersely. He didn’t really want to talk to her right now. Her father hadn’t died that night. Apparently her father was immortal as many times as he’d survived death. (Seriously, surviving not one, but two killing curses? Honestly.)

“Professor Timmons asked me to drop these off,” she indicated her armload of empty Potion bottles and a pack of labels. He’d left her class, the last of the day, early because of his mood. He’d told Timmons something about his mother or grandmother, he couldn’t remember at the moment, and his mentor had kindly told him to go on. For just a moment as he gazed at her he felt like he was a student again, begging off class. With a sudden movement he pulled her into the room and shut the door.

“Did anyone see you come in here?” He whispered with a very slight slur.

“I don’t think so…” she said uncertainly but he cut her off and made her drop everything in her arms. He pulled her to him and crushed his lips against hers. After a moment of hesitation she kissed him back and how long they stood there, hungrily snogging as if their lives depended on it, neither of them knew.

Then, just as quickly as he’d started he stopped and pushed her away and she stumbled and fell. He didn’t offer to help her and she looked as though his lack of compassion hurt, but his lowered inhibitions didn’t truly register what the pain etched on her face meant.

“We can’t do this Lily!” He said, a little too loudly. Her eyes widened and he saw her whip out her wand and point it at his door.

“Imperturbatus!” She rounded back on him. “Have you gone mental? You can’t say things like that, especially loud enough for others to hear!”

“Who bloody cares?” His voice was sharp, but lowered although now that she’d Imperturbed the door it didn’t really matter. “We can’t do this Lily!”

“I know!” She shot back as her face began to turn red; from anger or embarrassment he didn’t know, not that it really mattered.

“I have to keep my job Lily and you cannot come to my room and kiss me!” Something about this statement felt really off to him, but that was what happened, right?

“Kiss you?” She screeched. “You kissed me! That’s twice now that you’ve kissed me and twice now that you’ve tried to brush it off!”

“I’ve done no such thing,” he shook his head and pointed an accusing finger at her. “You’re trying to lure me into losing my job!”

“You’re daft,” she said incredulous, “everything that’s ever happened between us has been because you initiated it. You put your arm around me in the owlery, you held my hand on the stairs, you kissed me the night before the holidays, you kissed my cheek under the mistletoe and you pulled me in here and kissed me just now. Not me Scorpius, you.”

Was she right? Had he done all that? How could he have risked his job in such a way? The thought of his job tore his eyes away from her stricken face and they fell on the letter from the Ministry. He could not risk his job, regardless of any feelings or smells from a love potion. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“I don’t care; this can never happen again Lily. Ever. I have to take care of my family now and I cannot risk losing my job for someone like you.”

She stared at him and tears filled her eyes.

“So—so----sssomeone like me?” She whispered.

“Not all of us have had a perfect life you know,” he spat at her, his anger at the ministry refueled at the mere sight of the letter. “If I don’t keep this job I won’t be able to put food on my table. Something you, Princess Potter, have never had to worry about. Nor will you, daddy being famous and all.”
The venom in his voice surprised him, even in his blurred state of mind. She just continued to stare at him, tear tracks now running down her face.

“Fine,” she said bitterly, finding her voice, “see you around Mr. Malfoy.”
With that she turned, wrenched open the door and slammed it behind her.

In the corridor, Lily was relieved that no one was there. Everyone was at dinner, thankfully. She ducked into the nearest loo to wash her face as her mind reeled from what had just happened.

He must not care about me like I thought he did. She thought sadly.

He’d been drinking; you tasted the Firewhisky when you kissed him. A voice that sounded like Hugo argued with her own voice in her head.

Drinking or not, he was mean there. Is that really someone I want to be attracted to?

Doesn’t matter, you are attracted to him.

I don’t want to be anymore. Bloody Amorentia.

He just lost his father and grandfather. He’s going through something you’ve never experienced. Cut him some slack.

With that, she pushed all other thoughts from her mind and looked at her reflection. Her eyes looked slightly red, but not so badly she couldn’t pass it off as being overly tired. She ran her fingers through her hair and decided to go to dinner, even though she wasn’t very hungry. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and almost smacked into Landon Green.

“Oh, sorry Lily!” He said taking a step back.

“No, I’m sorry,” she gave him a small smile, “I wasn’t really looking where I was going.”

“You were coming out a door, no way you could have seen him ahead of time,” Jase, who she just now noticed, smiled at her. Smiling back at him she realized they were part of a group that also contained Lucy.

“Lily? Are you alright?” Her cousin pushed Corbin Brand, one of Jase’s dormates, out of the way and looked at Lily with concern.

“Yes, just tired. I’ve had a rough day,” she added weakly.

“Good thing it’s the weekend then!” Landon said happily and Lily met Lucy’s eyes, who didn’t look convinced, but obviously wasn’t going to press the issue at this point.

“Yes, and Hogsmeade tomorrow!” Corbin said happily, to which Landon replied something but at the mention of the village, Lily realized she’d never given Jase an answer and he’d asked her a week ago. She felt the blush creep up her neck and face at the recognition of how rude it was to leave him hanging.

“Right, Hogsmeade,” she said distractedly. “Jase?” She asked quietly and he turned and pushed a lock of sandy hair from his face, which looked as though he knew what she was thinking about. “Could I talk to you for a moment?” She shifted her book bag to her other shoulder nervously.

“Sure,” he said easily, “go on to dinner guys, we’ll meet you there.”
Lucy eyed Lily curiously and the latter gave her a look that said, I’ll tell you later. With a slight nod, Lucy followed Landon and Corbin in the direction of the Great Hall. Lily looked back at Jase who gave her a very sweet smile.

“It’s alright Lily, don’t worry about not getting back to me,” he said kindly.

“I’m so sorry though! I’m not usually so inconsiderate,” she thought about the last week and the worry she’d felt about Scorpius so obviously avoiding her and the constant chatter with Dana wondering if Hugo would ask her and the pain her friend felt once it became clear he wasn’t going to. It had been an emotional week.

“I know you’re not. I understand,” he looked a little sad but his tone was still kind, “it’s alright that you don’t want to go with me.”

She just stared up at him, surprised that she’d never really noticed how much taller he was than she, nor the kind way his green eyes gazed at her. She had never given him a second thought, always assuming her cousin Rose would eventually date him. Now though, as he so sweetly tried to make her feel good about her own impoliteness she realized he was a bloke worth giving a second thought to.

“No,” she said quietly and shook her head, “it’s just that, well, if you haven’t already found someone who didn’t string you along,” he gave a small chuckle but didn’t speak so she kept on going, “I would like to go with you.”

Those green eyes sparkled and his face broke out in an adorably boyish grin.

“Really?”

“Yes,” she returned his smile, “really.”

“Thanks Lily. I haven’t asked anyone else; I wouldn’t have until I knew your answer for certain, so I’d love to take you.”

She felt her face blush at just how nice he was. Even when she’d basically ignored his invitation for a week he wouldn’t ask someone else for the sake of either politeness or her feelings, it didn’t matter. He was probably one of the kindest boys she knew and she wondered again why she’d never looked at him as more than a friend.

“Great, cause I’d love to go with you,” she shifted her bag again, the weight of books making her shoulder ache slightly. She had more books than normal because she’d gone to the library after lunch instead of back to her dorm like normal.

“Here,” he reached for her bag, “let me carry that to dinner for you.”

“Thanks,” she blushed again and he smiled.

“Shall we?” He nodded toward the Great Hall where a hot dinner was awaiting them.

“Yes, lets,” she smiled and felt butterflies in her stomach as they made small talk. She wasn’t sure why she felt the butterflies. Could be nervousness about seeing the reaction of her friends and family when they walked in with him carrying her bag or excited nerves about their date tomorrow, or it could be that for the first time in a long time she was thinking of a boy who didn’t have blonde hair and grey eyes.

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Hello there! Sorry for the chapter delay. Thank you all so much for your feedback, I appreciate it so much! I hope you're not disappointed in this update...I don't think it's what most of you are expecting, but it is the way it is for a reason! Thanks so much for reading!

Chapter Forty-One

The next morning Lily lazed in bed, her stomach in knots. She hadn’t properly spoken to Roxy or Dana the previous evening, although both were obviously and understandably curious about the sudden turn of events. Lily and Jase coming into the Great Hall, late no less, with him carrying her bag, had caused a slight stir, but no one asked any questions. She had probing looks from her friends and several eyebrow raises from Hugo, but no one wanted to get into it with Jase around, not to mention other Gryffindors. Once in the Common Room, they had all stayed up late playing exploding snap and chess, which Lily had to admit, was a lot of fun and something she wished they had done more often with the seventh years who would be leaving in only four months’ time.

When they all ventured to bed however, Lily was prevented from sharing the story because their other dormates were in the room and still awake. While she liked the other girls, she wasn’t ready to share her feelings about Scorpius with them, so with a knowing look and shrug she had closed the curtains on her four poster and taken a long time to fall asleep. Her brain was working on overdrive and in all honesty, she was glad to have longer than expected to process how she felt, what she thought, and what she would tell them all come daylight.

As she lay in bed, she heard Colleen and Wisteria, the other two Gryffindor sixth year girls, chatting with Dana and Roxy. With a sigh she opened her curtains and offered a smile at her dormates.

“Morning Lily,” Colleen said brightly and grabbed her bag. “Ready Teria? We’ve only got an hour of breakfast left.”

“Ready!” The other girl offered a smile and a wave and they were off. As soon as the door clicked Roxy and Dana rounded on Lily, who put her hands up in defense before either could even open their mouths.

“Let me shower and then I’ll fill you in, alright?” She earned herself a basilisk stare from Roxy and a huff and head shake from Dana, but her friends allowed her to shower. Once she was back on her bed, robe and slipper clad, she sighed and recounted what had happened the previous evening, omitting kissing and arguing with Scorpius.

“But Lily,” Roxy said with a penetrating gaze, “what about Scorpius?”

“What about him?” Lily shrugged and willed herself not to cry. “I can’t date him and this sort of kills two Plimpies with one spell, you know?”

“Explain that,” Roxy’s eyes were narrowed.

“I just mean that you know Hugh thought I needed to date someone, right? Well here is the perfect opportunity.”

“Aren’t you worried about what Scorpius will think?” Dana asked sounded scandalized.

“No,” Lily sighed, “Scorpius has a lot going on right now and I doubt he’s going to pay any attention to my love life.”

Roxy tilted her head to the side and contemplated her cousin and Lily wished, not for the first time, that Roxy didn’t have that innate ability to somehow see through what Lily actually said. Somehow, her cousin always saw what was really going on.

“I’m not in denial!” Lily was a bit more defensive than she meant to be. “Look, you don’t fall in love by accident. If the way I feel about Scorpius is real and more than a crush, fine, but for now I want to focus on someone else and Jase is perfect.”

“Perfect?” Dana questioned, passing Lily a makeup brush.

“Yes,” Lily sighed again, “he’s still pining for Rose, but he’s trying to get over her. It takes the pressure off, you know? He doesn’t know I have feelings for someone else, but we’re in similar boats nonetheless.”

“Except Rosie hasn’t given Jase any encouragement and Scorpius has kissed you and we know for a fact he returns your feelings,” Roxy pointed out as she pulled her socks on. Her head snapped up suddenly and she gave Lily that penetrating stare again. “Are you trying to get over Scorpius?”

“I don’t know,” Lily whispered, “but I like Jase. He’s a nice guy and I know I’ll have a fun day with him,” she saw her friends exchange a look and she shook her head sadly. “You both know Scorpius has been avoiding me and not acting the same since he got back,” she shrugged. “I just want to see about dating someone else right now, alright?”

“Alright Lils,” Dana moved to her side and gave her a hug, “we support you, you know that right?”

“I know,” Lily looked at Roxy, knowing she wouldn’t convince so easily. After a moment her cousin also gave her a hug.

“Sure Lils, whatever you want,” the look in her eyes was missed by Dana, but Lily knew Roxy saw something that Dana didn’t. Although she didn’t know the facts, Roxy suspected there was more to the story. Lily only hoped she wouldn’t bring it up.

The girls finished getting dressed; each snacking on some biscuits Grandmum had sent Lily and Roxy earlier in the week instead of going to breakfast.
Once they were all dressed, they headed to the Common Room and met up with Hugo, Landon, and Mike. Lily was to meet Jase in the Entrance Hall following breakfast. Mike, Roxy, Landon, and Dana all walked on ahead and left Lily and Hugo alone to talk. She had a very similar conversation with him as she’d had in her dorm that morning, although he was more concerned about how Scorpius would feel about her dating someone else. Without giving anything away (she hoped) she convinced him not to worry about that; that Scorpius had other things on his mind right now and that she was just taking his, Hugo’s, advice about dating someone else. He seemed to take that answer, for which she was glad. Hurt and angry as she was, she had no desire to cause a rift between Hugo and Scorpius, nor did she want her cousin to do something stupid like owl her brothers.

Upon descending the staircase to enter the Entrance Hall she saw Jase chatting with Lucy. After a moment he looked up and caught her eye and gave her a smile and a wave. Lucy, her back to them, turned and also smiled and walked up to Dana, who had just reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Morning everyone,” Lucy waved around at all the sixth years then turned to Dana, “want to come to the village with me? I’ve got some shopping to do.” Lily felt a rush of gratitude to her cousin for thinking of spending the day with Dana, who was putting up a brave front but was still feeling pain over Hugo.

“Sure,” Dana smiled and turned to her friends, “see you all later!” Waving, she had Lucy left through the front doors, already giggling about something.

“Let’s go Hugh,” Landon watched the girls leaving and nodded in their direction, “I’ve got some shopping to do too,” he deadpanned and for a moment no one said anything, then Hugo, Mike, and Landon all burst out laughing.

“Don’t buy everything in Dad’s store alright?” Roxy shook her finger at them playfully. “Leave some for the rest of us, alright?”

“We’ll do our best!” Hugo grinned and shrugged as the two boys left.

“Hey Lily,” Jase finally greeted her, most of her entourage gone now.

“Morning Jase,” she grinned a real grin at him. “Ready?”

“Yes,” he returned her smile and opened the large doors for her to walk through. They chatted about their families as they walked to the village.

“My mum is a muggle and while she understands about the magical world, it has caused some problems from time to time,” he said with a small shrug.

“Like what?” Lily didn’t want to be nosy, but figured since he opened the door to the subject it was alright to ask.

“A recent example was that she couldn’t come to Professor Longbottom’s wedding since it was at Hogwarts and muggles can’t see Hogwarts.”

“Oh right,” Lily nodded, “did she want to come then?”

“My dad has remained friends with Professor Longbottom since their school days and mum is fond of Hannah too, they really hit off when they met. So, yeah,” he shrugged again, “she was disappointed but in the end there wasn’t anything that could be done so she stayed home.”

“I have some Muggle relatives on my Dad’s side, and I think we have a third cousin or something on the Weasley side who’s an accountant, but I don’t really know much about muggles. None of us went to Muggle Primary school, grandmum insisted on homeschooling us and surprisingly all our parents agreed. We used to all be at her house almost every day. I’m not sure how she stood it, to be honest.”

“If you ever need to know anything, let me know, I know all about muggles,” he grinned as they reached the village. After some debate they decided to hit up Honeydukes first. The morning passed quickly and enjoyably. Jase held doors open for Lily and once or twice led her by the small of her back, but he never tried to hold her hand. They were happy to just walk companionably together. Around noon their stomachs started rumbling and they agreed it was time to head to the Hogs Head.

When they entered Lily blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the change of light and once she could see clearly she scanned the room. Her eyes found two red heads her face broke out in a grin. Hugo, Landon, Lucy, and Dana were all seated at a table together laughing about something. Lily’s heart was happy to see Dana and Hugo together, and although she knew they weren’t, any simple observer would think they were on a date. He had his arm slug casually across the back of her chair and Lily watched him glance at her as she laughed at something Landon said. His eyes spoke what his mouth hadn’t been able to say yet and she sincerely hoped he would do something about his feelings for Dana soon.

She and Jase decided to join them and soon the six of them were joined by Mike and Roxy, and as they all sat around the crowded table sipping butterbeer and eating fish and chips Lily felt happier than she had since Christmas.

The students had gone to Hogsmeade that morning, and Scorpius had overheard Jase Finnegan and another Gryffindor talking about the former taking Lily to Hogsmeade that day. Once he’d awoken this morning and replayed the previous night in his head his first instinct had been to hide in his room for the day. However, he also felt a lot of regret for how he’d acted toward Lily and he secretly hoped he’d have an opportunity to apologize to her. The opportunity never came though, and he spent his day in the Potions classroom working on some demonstrative potions Professor Timmons had asked him to brew for the following week.

After dinner that night, where he covertly watched Lily and Jase, he returned to his room and wanted to reach for the bottle, only to realize he was out. Not wanting to just go to bed, he grabbed his cloak and headed for Teddy’s office. Upon knocking, there was no answer and he muttered the password to the old fashion brass keyhole on the door and it opened. Teddy had given him the password so he could have access to the floo network to get home to his mother and grandmother quickly if needed. This time, however, he grabbed the floo powder and stepped into the green flames proclaiming “The Hogs Head!”

He emerged into the room and saw that although not busy, Neville was there chatting with George Weasley.

“Good evening Scorpius!” Neville said cheerfully. “Firewhisky?” He said knowingly and Scorpius nodded while Neville pulled the bottle and poured the glass. George clapped him on the back in a fatherly sort of way.

“How are you Scorpius?”

“Fine, thanks,” he didn’t really want to chat and although he would have liked to just buy the bottle and be done with it, he had an inkling that Neville might not sell him a whole bottle. The older professor seemed to know he’d been indulging too much of late.

“You’re doing better than I did then,” George motioned for Neville to top off his glass.

“Sorry?” Scorpius sipped his drink and looked at George, not entirely sure what he meant.

“I mean I wasn’t fine for a long time after I lost my brother Fred.”

Scorpius snorted into his drink and then coughed from the startle of it all. He’d spent a fair amount of time with George Weasley over the Christmas holidays and although he knew the man to be shrewd and blunt, he’d never been on the receiving end and he was slightly taken aback.

“Alright,” he said slowly once he had caught his breath, “I suppose I’m not completely fine, but I’m doing the best I can.”

“I drank a lot,” George said frankly with a regretful shake of his head. Neville had moved down the bar to help another set of customers so the two men were alone. “I also used to spout off and let my mouth get away from me; especially if I’d had a few.”

Scorpius could do nothing but look at him, bewildered. Had Lily told her uncle what had happened? It seemed unlikely that his words were coincidental. After staring at the man a few moments Scorpius finally gave a small nod but didn’t say anything. George laughed and finished his drink.

“Resulted in a fair few fights, including a punching match with my brother Charlie,” he cocked his head to the side, “you didn’t get to meet Charlie he wasn’t home for Christmas this year. Anyhow, I said some things about his work with dragons and something else about a girl he’s always fancied who won’t have anything to do with him and he punched me!” The man laughed again, Scorpius only barely managed a smile. This was a very strange conversation. “I can’t even remember all the fights I’ve had with Angelina, especially back then when we were both mourning, she was close to Fred, and we kept downing our sorrows in Firewhisky.”

“Even after fighting with her, she still married you?” Scorpius finally found his voice.

“Sure,” George waved his hand dismissively, “I wasn’t myself during any of those moments and she knew it. She was hurt sometimes, and mad, but she always forgave me.”

Neville returned to them at that moment, giving Scorpius an excuse not to respond and the chance to get lost in his own thoughts. Angelina had forgiven George for things he said and did when he had been drinking. When he was mourning; although both were excuses and not all behavior could be excused, he felt like it was enough to maybe earn a conversation with Lily. He couldn’t be with her, and after last night he knew any interaction with her would have to be public and very few, but he had to apologize. She had to know he was sorry.

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Chapter Forty-Two

If someone had told him six months ago that he’d be in this place at this moment he would have thought them mental and referred them to St. Mungo’s. Yet, here he was and not for the first time either. He glanced around at the people in the room and couldn’t help feeling a tightening in his chest. Lily had obviously kept their last conversation to herself because her family was just as friendly as ever, probably even more so since he could tell they all wanted to support him in quest to mourn the loss of his family.

“Here you are hon,” Molly Weasley handed him a bottle of butterbeer, the strongest drink he’d trust himself to have at the moment. Although at times he still felt the Firewhisky calling his name, he’d made a conscious effort to stop drinking it, at least for the time being. After two more conversations with George Weasley, he had a sneaking suspicion that meeting with George wasn’t random but as it was helping him who was he to worry over it? He had come to realize that while drinking Firewhisky on occasion was fine, the healing effects of the alcohol were temporary and often times made things worse than they actually were.

The moment of realization for him had come when he was taking a bottle of the drink to Professor Timmons in an effort to rid his room of the drink. He’d been walking with purpose to his mentor’s office, feeling chuffed with himself for getting rid of the drink and he didn’t notice the Gryffindors start down the opposite end of the hall. He remembered with perfect clarity the look on Lily’s face as she looked up when Hugo called out to him, her brown eyes flicking to his and back to the bottle twice before she narrowed them. She obviously thought the drink was for him and although he mentioned the bottle was for Timmons, the look she gave him said enough. Not only did she not believe him, but she was disgusted to see the drink in his hands.

He joked with Hugo and the others for a minute, but her response to him was cool and he determined she wouldn’t have spoken to him at all if she hadn’t been trying to keep up the pretenses. Which is what she was doing, he was sure now. She was allowing her friends to think nothing had happened between them other than her deciding to date Jase. She was taking the blame for their indifference to each other and he knew it was to protect him. It was the Gryffindor coming out in her. Or, maybe it was the Potter coming out in her. Selflessness seemed to run in that family as fluidly as red hair ran in the Weasley’s.

As they walked away he watched them go. Listening to the laughter between Hugo and Dana, the later slinging his arm around her, making Scorpius smile despite all the ill feelings he had at the moment. Although he knew they weren’t yet a couple, Hugo would have told him, it seemed as though things were going to end happily for those two. The smile was unwillingly wiped from his face, however as he met her brown eyes when she turned to regard him again. This time they weren’t narrowed, glaring, or indifferent; they were sad. This tore at his insides because indifference and anger he could deal with, but sadness left him feeling both pathetic and helpless. He didn’t know what to do with sadness, or how to make it go away and his part in making her sad ate at him. He still longed to apologize to her, but she was skillful in avoiding him and when he did see her she was never, ever alone.

It was in that moment, realizing her sadness and seeing how the bottle had ruined his chance with her that he knew he could never let the drink control him again. He couldn’t drink away the pain. If anything, the drink had made the pain so palpable he troubled to catch a breath sometimes. It was nothing but a temporary fix, a short distraction from the reality that was so ready to stare him in the face once he awoke from the haze. It had been two weeks since that encounter and he hadn’t let the burning liquid even graze his lips since then.

Now into the month of March, Lily and Jase seemed to have found an easy and graceful relationship. He had wondered exactly what the extent of their time together entailed, but in actuality he didn’t really want to know. He knew they weren’t into public displays of affection, for which he was grateful. He couldn’t know what went on behind the Portrait of the Fat Lady, but at least he could pretend they were nothing more than mates.
A hand waved in front of his face and he was pulled from his thoughts back to the present. James was smirking at him.

“If you tell me you’re daydreaming about my little sister I might have to hex you.”

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” he gave a small smile. James cocked his head to the side and leaned a little closer to Scorpius.

“Meaning?” He dragged the ending of the word out, both his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Scorpius was confused. Had Lily not told her family she was dating Jase?

“Did you know she has a boyfriend?” He quickly leaned away as James spewed part of the drink he’d just taken in his direction. Coughing he waved off the looks from his family and after a moment cleared his throat.

“What?” He sounded genuinely shocked.

“She’s dating Jase Finnegan.”

“Finnegan?” He contemplated this. “But, the bloke’s in love with Rosie!”

“Who’s in love with me?” Rose said from two chairs over. She got up and walked over to them, motioning for Al, who she had been talking to, to follow her.

“Jase,” James said simply and moved his gaze to Al. “Did Lily tell you she’s dating him?” The younger Potter brother looked a bit guilty.

“She might have mentioned it,” he muttered, earning a smack on the arm from Rose and a glare from James.

“Why didn’t you mention it to me?” James cried. “Why didn’t she mention it to me?”

“She only wrote me two days ago James, calm down.”

“Lily’s really dating him?” Rose said in an odd voice.

“According to her letter,” Al shrugged.

“They’ve been dating since Valentine’s Day,” Scorpius supplied.

“Valentine’s Day?” James screeched again and his mother gave him a look from across the dining room of her home. “Valentine’s Day?” James repeated in a lower but no less incredulous voice.

“Yes,” Scorpius shrugged in what he hoped was nonchalance, it was bad enough that James and Al knew about his feelings for Lily, he didn’t need Rose knowing as well.

“But its March,” James said as if this explained his previous screeching.

“I guess she wanted to wait a bit before letting us know,” Al shrugged again.

“Right, letting you know,” James seemed to be taking the fact that Lily hadn’t told him very hard. Scorpius remembered with a pang of sadness the day in the Owlery she had told him she and James weren’t especially close. It seemed James either didn’t think the same, or wanted to be close to his sister because he certainly seemed put out that she hadn’t confided in him. “Have you written her back yet?”

Al shook his head and James grabbed his brother and pulled him out the door. The rest of the family looked up from their drinks and conversations, Harry giving a dismissive wave in the direction his sons had gone. Rose looked at Scorpius and they made eye contact and she shrugged and jabbed her finger at the door. With a sigh he nodded and followed her from the room in the wake of Lily’s brothers.

A few days later Lily was fuming as she stomped in the direction of the dungeons. Class had just ended and she had a free period right now and from her interest in Scorpius from earlier in the year she knew there were no Potions classes now until after lunch. She paused outside the open door and peered in. Seeing that he was alone she entered the room. He looked up and his face registered several emotions but the two that stood out most to her were shock and pain. With an angry sigh she waved the parchment she clutched out in front of her. She’d only just had a chance to read it, having to hurriedly finish her Runes homework before class she hadn’t had time to read it when James’ owl Quid had brought it with the morning post.

“You went and blabbed to my brothers about my dating Jase?” The pain on his face left in a hurry and now all that registered was shock. “I’ve been so careful about what I’ve said about you to Hugo and everyone else and you go and open your mouth to my brothers?”

“You’d already told Al,” he said quietly.

“I don’t care! What the bloody hell were you doing spending time with them anyhow?”

“Teddy invited me to dinner Sunday night,” it appeared he was going to keep his answers brief.

“Were you drunk again? Is that why you decided to talk about me to my family?” As angry as she was she was conscious to keep her distance from him. His eyes darkened and narrowed.

“No,” his voice wasn’t angry, but he didn’t seem overly happy with her accusation either. “In fact it was your brother who brought you up in the first place.”

“I don’t care,” she huffed, “you had no right to tell James!”

“Why didn’t you tell James?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Ashamed of your boyfriend are you?”

She just stared at him with her mouth slightly open when Professor Timmons entered the room. He was reading a parchment and didn’t immediately see her. When he looked up to speak to Scorpius he startled at the sight of Lily.

“Miss Potter!” He exclaimed. “Is everything alright?”

Taking a deep breath Lily nodded at her third favorite Professor.

“Yes sir,” her voice, “I just had a disturbing letter from home and I was telling Mr. Malfoy about it.”

“I hope your family is well?” He asked kindly but it didn’t go unnoticed by Lily or Scorpius that he took a deliberate step between two desks, which positioned him square between the two of them.

“Yes sir, they are it’s nothing like that,” she said quietly. “Well, I need to get to my homework,” she muttered.

“Good idea,” Professor Timmons said shrewdly. “Have a nice day.”

“You too,” with one last glare at Scorpius she left the room. Still fuming she made her way up the stairs and out of the dungeons, only to be bombarded by none other than Hugo, who was running full speed toward the Entrance Hall.

“Bloody…Hugo!” She shouted as he raced by her, his cloak blowing behind him. He paused for a second, turned on his heel, grabbed her arm and pulled her forcefully along beside him. She was sputtering and tripping, trying to gain footing as he ran. After almost falling down the steps once they were outside he finally let go of her and she steadied herself. With a cheeky grin he took off for the Lake. “Hugo! Hugh!” She yelled for him but his only response was a wave over his head. With a ragged sigh she took off after him.

Once he reached the ancient beech tree beside the lake he dropped to the grass and sprawled himself on his back. Had there been snow he would have been making a snow angel, but seeing as the snow had melted he only appeared to be in a mental state. Breathing heavily she plopped next to him and after a moment to catch her breath she swiftly punched him in the stomach.

“Oooff!” He grunted but his eyes were dancing with merriment so prominently that Lily reached out to punch him again but he deftly caught her arm. “No need for violence Lils,” he grinned.

“What on earth were you running from?” Lily was still panting a little and she cast a glance over her shoulder. Hugo laughed.

“No one is after us Lily,” another cheeky grin.

“What?” She shook her head as he laughed. “Why were you running then? Just practicing for next time Mr. Rem is chasing you?”

“Nah,” he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Just needed the rush; life is too serious lately.”

“Needed the rush?” She cocked her eyebrows at him and shook her head. “You almost killed me pulling me down the stairs so you could get a rush?” Again, he laughed.

“Adrenaline Lils, you know, the excitement of thinking you’re being chased or in danger. I thought you could use it,” smiling he shrugged.

“That was all for my benefit?” She shook her head again and yet again, he laughed.

“Yes,” he shrugged again, “I saw you reading that letter and then take off for the dungeons mad, and then I saw you come back. I was waiting in the Entrance Hall for you. You just seemed, well, I don’t know exactly, a mix between angry and sad so I thought you could use a bit of a rush. So I ran, and pulled you along for the ride.”

“But there was nothing to run from.”

“You didn’t know that,” he grinned and patted her playfully on the head. “Why the anger and sadness Lily?”

She looked away unwilling to tell him all that had transpired in her life over the last month. She was angry at Scorpius and, if she was honest with herself, she was also hurt but that wasn’t an emotion she was ready to deal with. Regardless of her anger she would not taint Hugo’s opinion of Scorpius. She couldn’t explain exactly why she felt so strongly that her cousin remain friends with the man who had broken her heart, but she couldn’t deny her heart felt that way.

“It’s nothing Hugh,” he opened his mouth but she patted his knee, “really, it’s just girly stuff.”

She’d said the magic words. The men in her family were terribly afraid of “girly stuff” and generally avoided it like a Blast-Ended Skrewts. Hugo visibly blanched but then eyed her carefully, as though not entirely buying her story. He wasn’t prepared for the possibility that she really was having girly problems though, so he let it go.

“Fine, but you know I’m here,” he smiled at her and she returned it genuinely. He gazed at the lake for a while and they just sat contentedly, their thoughts on their own problems. Finally Hugo sighed and looked at Lily and gave a sad sort of smile. “Things have changed this year haven’t they?”
Although she wasn’t certain to which change he was referring, she nodded. “Yes, they have.”

“Scorpius being on staff and all that has come with that,” he needn’t elaborate on that with her, “Mike and Roxy a couple, Neville married…” he trailed off.

“Not to mention you and Dana,” Lily supplied for him.

“Right, let’s not forget how I’ve screwed that up,” he pulled some grass up and threw it out in front of him in frustration.

“I don’t think you’ve screwed it up Hugh,” Lily said quietly.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, “I’d say not taking her to Hogsmeade for Valentines was pretty bad.”

“Well,” Lily smiled, “I think you still have a chance.”

His head snapped up and he regarded her. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Huh.”

They just sat there until the sun began to set. Without saying anything Hugo stood up and lent Lily a hand to rise. He put his arm around her shoulders and she around his waist and they went to dinner, both having enjoyed the time outdoors with their cousin but both still confused with their lives.
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Chapter Forty=three

Lily was enjoying the warmer weather that the end of March provided. She no longer needed a hat, gloves, or layered clothing but was perfectly comfortable in her favorite jumper with her Gryffindor scarf around her neck. She gazed out over the lake; again sitting under the beech tree that unbeknownst to her was a tree her grandfather liked when he was at school. She looked back at her parchment and ran her hand through her hair in frustration. It had been a week since she’d received the letter from James and then proceeded to get angry with Scorpius over said letter. She hadn’t written her brother back because she didn’t really know what to say.

She was happily dating Jase but was under no illusions that theirs was a lasting relationship. They were basically friends who sometimes held hands or gave a slight peck on the lips. He had kissed her on their second “date” which was a very wintery walk around the frozen lake about six weeks ago. Although he was a pleasant kisser there was no spark for her. She refused to compare him to the only other person she’d ever kissed, but there was really no comparison anyhow. Their kisses had never progressed into anything, neither of them really wanting to delve into anything deeper than their surface level relationship. It was convenient to date him right now and she felt a little guilty about not really liking him. She knew he felt the same way. He was a teenage boy. If he felt more for her he would have most definitely tried something by now. No hormone crazed eighteen year old was that much of a nice guy.

This was something else she tried not to think about, but it annoyed her all the same. Jase was eighteen, only six months younger than Scorpius, yet she could date him. It was infuriating all the rules of his working at her school. Not that she wanted to date Scorpius, of course. She was getting over that.

Her eyes wandered to the doors and she watched as a group of people emerged, one person a little in front of the others. One of them was very familiar to her but she had to squint to recognize the others. She let out an audible gasp when she realized it was Richard Corner and his Ravenclaw buddies, all walking toward Dana, who was slightly in front of them and didn’t seem to know they were right on her heels. Or maybe she did and was ignoring them, but regardless, Lily shoved her quill and parchment back in her bag and got up to meet her friend. Writing James could wait.

Before she reached Dana she watched Richard reach out and pull her arm, stopping her. Lily watched Dana turn around sharply and even from the distance could see her friend’s annoyed expression. She couldn’t hear them but their body language told her that Richard was overconfident and Dana was defensive. She was finally within earshot and what she heard made her blood boil.

“…Weasley reject you then? Guess he didn’t want my leftovers,” he laughed and Lily thought, not for the first time, that he was in the wrong house. Slytherin meanness seemed much more his style, although she couldn’t deny he was smart. She wanted jump up and down in celebration as she watched Dana reach out and smack him hard across his smug face.

“You’re foul,” she said simply and Lily finally reached her side.

“Oh now this should be fun!” Richard continued to smirk as he rubbed the spot on his face she’d made contact with, his eyes lighting when he saw Lily.

“Corner,” she spoke his name quietly, a trick she’d learned from her Aunt Audrey. Her mother and grandmother were known for raised voices when angry, but Aunt Audrey was scary when she talked slowly and quietly. You never knew exactly what she was going to say and her expressions were unreadable. Lily tried to summon the same calmness as she deadpanned the boy who had made this year harder than it had to be for all of them. “Let’s go Dana.”

Lily took her friend’s arm and led her way from the Ravenclaws, who were laughing.

“Running scared are we?” Richard said sarcastically. “Not what you’d expect from perfect Lily Potter. Aren’t you all supposed to be daring and brave? Must have skipped a generation,” he laughed at what he thought was cleverness. “I guess living such a sheltered little life you don’t know how to defend yourself. You’ve always got daddy, an uncle or cousin to do it for you.”

All thoughts of Aunt Audrey and calm left her brain at the sneer toward herself and her family. Without conscious thought she whirled around, balled her fist and punched him square in the jaw with a loud crack! He stumbled backwards, his hand immediately finding his cheek. Lily very vaguely heard shouting from the direction of the Quidditch pitch but her brain was swirling with insults and anger. All her anger from the events in her own life were put into that punch. Richard’s friends had stopped laughing and were gaping at her as if she’d grown another head.

“Impressive Potter,” Corner said, his hand still rubbing his now red face. “I think that’s going to leave a mark. You’ll be sorry,” he pulled his wand and she imitated him. They stood there facing off and although Lily didn’t glance behind her, she had a feeling Dana’s wand was also pointing at the pompous Ravenclaw who had a mean streak worthy of a Death Eater.

“I am sorry,” she glared and twisted her wand slightly in her hand, “that I waited so long to do that. Not to sound like a typical Gryffindor, but I thought people like you were snakes, not eagles. How did you end up in Ravenclaw?” She cocked her head and registered the sound of heavy footsteps. Someone was running toward them very fast. With a sly smile she knew exactly who it was.

“Family thing you know,” he shrugged arrogantly, “both my parents were in Ravenclaw. You know that though, don’t you? They both dated one of your parents.”

This was something that always made her stomach turn. Her dad and Richard’s mother, Cho, and had dated and it was her mum who had introduced Michael Corner to Dumbledore’s Army. She had to admit that neither of his parents had his mean streak, but according to Uncle Ron, Mr. Corner was a prat, although a somewhat honorable one. He had fought in the battle, as had Cho Chang Corner, but their son seemed to have none of their honor.

The footsteps came to an abrupt halt and Lily let out a breath and glanced sideways at her favorite cousins. Hugo and Roxy, returning from Quidditch were now flanking her, wands drawn. It seemed the year had been building to this moment and Lily took a deep breath, ready to fight if it came to that.

“Corner,” Hugo spat, “I have no idea what you did to earn that shiner, but I’d like to kiss whoever gave it to you.”

It was true; his cheek was turning a lovely blue color, right up to under his eye giving the appearance of a black eye. With a smirk Lily leaned over and tapped her cheek with her index finger. Hugo’s eyes went wide and Roxy laughed. She heard Mike say something from behind them.

“Lily? You punched him?”

“Yes.”

“Very nice,” Hugo nodded appreciatively and did lean over and kiss her cheek without lowering his wand or taking his eyes off Corner.

“You’re such a hypocrite Weasley,” Richard said through gritted teeth. “You talked a big game about embarrassing me with that idiotic chess game. I heard you say you wanted to solve it without violence, but now you’re condoning her punching me? Some Prefect you are.”

Hugo shrugged, “Guess so.”

“You all make me sick,” he spat and for the second time Lily thought this was the moment all the bickering and fighting had led to. “The perfect Potters and Wonderful Weasleys! Can do no wrong; according to most of the wizarding world; but you know what? Your bloody family didn’t hang the moon.”

There was movement on the other side of Hugo and from the corner of her eye Lily saw a flash of red and another wand pulled. Lucy.

“Walk away Richard,” Lucy sounded exactly like her mum. It was chilling how scary a calm, soft voice could be. “Jealousy isn’t a good color on you.”

“Jealousy? Jealousy?” He yelled. “What do I have to be jealous of them about? I got the girl Weasley wanted and now he won’t even touch her with a ten foot pole. They’re both miserable and I got everything I wanted from her,” Hugo’s face was growing so red he looked as though he might blow up at any moment. “I’m going to be captain of the Ravenclaw team next year. I am not jealous,” he turned to Lucy and raised his wand. Before he could cast the curse Jase ran in from behind them and in front of her protectively taking the blast, his ears immediately began to twitch uncontrollably.

“That was a mistake Corner,” Hugo said and took a menacing step toward Richard when he was hit with a spell from behind and his movements slowed. Whipping around Lily saw the caster heading right for them: Teddy.

“Break it up,” he said gruffly, his hair a sandy color Lily knew to be the hair color of his father and what would be his natural color if he were not a Metamorphmagus. The color his hair always changed when he was upset. Was it just this argument between his god sister and all his cousins-in-law, or was there something else on his mind upsetting him?

“Professor, I was provoked,” Richard started and Teddy cut him off with a glare, his hair momentarily turning a dark red.

“I saw you all with wands drawn in a line like a ridiculous muggle battlefield from the 18th century, yet you, Mr. Corner are the only one I saw cast a spell,” he indicated Jase and performed the counter-curse and his ears stopped twitching. “Aimed for a female no less. Is chivalry truly dead?”

“Lily punched me!” He indicated his face and Teddy looked at it and shrugged.

“I didn’t see it,” the Ravenclaws all around started exclaiming and he held up a hand, silencing them. “Lily did you punch him?”

“Yes,” there was no way she was going to lie to Teddy. She saw disbelief cloud his features, followed by what she would swear was a brotherly sort of pride. It was quickly replaced by what the Potter children called his “stern teacher face.”

“Detention then,” he sighed, “to be determined later. As for you Mr. Corner,” he turned to Richard, “you will serve detention tomorrow night with Mr. Rem at precisely 7 o’clock. I’m told you were late to the last two detentions I assigned you so I must impress upon you to take me very seriously. If I hear you are even one minute late to this detention you will be sitting with me during all Quidditch matches for the rest of this year; including Ravenclaw. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” Richard muttered with a nod of dismissal from Teddy he and his friends moved toward the castle.

“Now,” he faced the Gryffindors and scattered a few random onlookers from other houses with a wave of his hand. “I was looking for you four,” he indicated Hugo, Lily, Roxy, and Lucy. “I must admit I was surprised to find you all together and facing other students in an obvious duel! I’m shocked at you Lily, and Lucy,” he shook his head at the oldest Weasley, “you’ve never raised your wand to another student in your entire school career! You wait until you’re 3 months from graduating to do so,” another head shake, “it’s ridiculous.”

“If you’d heard him you would understand,” Lucy said. “I had to stand with my family,” she gave Lily a smile. “We stick together.”

“You know?” Teddy raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile. “I already knew that about your family, funnily enough.” They all laughed, but after a moment Teddy’s face grew serious again. “I need to see you four,” he pointed to them again, “in my office. Now.”

They exchanged looks and started for the castle. Hugo, who had been uncommonly quiet since Teddy came on the scene stopped. “Hold on a sec, ok?” He called to his family and jogged back a few paces to where Dana was standing with Mike and Jase and the rest of the Quidditch team.

She was watching her friends leave with their cousin-in-law and Professor, worry obvious on her face. Lily watched as Hugo walked up to her and without an ounce of hesitation he pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the mouth. Lily put her hand to her mouth and felt tears come unbidden to her eyes. She took a few steps toward them, Roxy and Lucy mirroring her, so they could hear what he said to her after pulling away.

“I’m so sorry Dana,” he seemed to have eyes only for her, “all that Corner said, I, well, I hate him for using you, and I have been miserable. I really care about you. End my misery, please. Be my girlfriend?” He said hopefully and Lily felt the tears now run down her cheeks. She watched her best friend push a lock of her chestnut hair from her face and smile beautifully at Hugo.

“Yes,” she whispered and stood on her toes to kiss him lightly again. After kissing her back, Hugo pulled away and ran his hand over the back of her head.

“Thank you,” he whispered and pulled her close, hugging her so tenderly Lily felt like a voyeur for observing the encounter. “I’ll see you at dinner, alright?” He kissed her forehead.

Dana nodded and they shared one more kiss and he turned toward Lily and she couldn’t believe the look of pure happiness on his face. With a grin he raised his wand and cast a perfect corporeal patronus. As the Bulldog ran around them Hugo put an arm around Lily and another one around Lucy. Roxy linked with Lily’s other arm and the four redheads followed their teacher to the castle.

“I’ve never been happier,” he said to his four female cousins who had all been waiting for this day for a long while. They all laughed and once they reached Teddy’s office and he closed the door they found Professor Longbottom facing them looking grim.

I haven't left a goof cliffie in a while! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hugo and Dana...hmmmm? What are your thoughts? I'd love to know what you think so if you have moment, please head on over to the feedback thread. Thanks so much for reading!

Hello! I'm back! After having some very annoying computer issues I have finally got them worked out and am able to post again! I hope you enjoy this update...sorry for the long delay. Thank you you much to everyone who left feedback! I appreciate it so much!

Chapter Forty-Four

Marriage Causes Problems for Ministry

By Rita Skeeter

Harry Potter, the man who was once known as “The Boy Who Lived” and even called “The Chosen One” by some supreme followers was brought in for questioning by the Wizengamont this morning. Potter, the head of the Auror office, is under suspicion of using his position to parley an illegal alliance with the French Ministry. Although not accused, Potter was questioned in regard to the recent elopement of his niece, Dominique Weasley to Pierre Gravois, the lieutenant captain of the French Department of Law Enforcement.

For years our Ministry and the French have been at odds over various items on the political playing field, the most prominent being the differing of opinion in regard to laws relating to Giant, Merpeople, Goblin, and other intelligent magical beings involvement in Government. The French take a liberal view on the subject and have had many disagreements with our Wizengamont resulting in adverse relations between the two governments. Our own Minister Shacklebolt leans toward the French perspective but has been overruled in changing our laws at every turn by the Wizengamont. Potter, a close friend and supporter of Shacklebolt, has been vocal on his wish for the laws of our country to change. His brother-in-law, William “Bill” Weasley, who has been touted as the next Minister by Shacklebolt much because of his experience in dealing with Goblins and other magical creatures, is Dominique’s father. The marriage has come at a most opportune moment for those wanting the French influence in our Ministry, as campaigns for the post of Minister are already in the works. The appointment of the next Minister for Magic is set to occur a year from this August. Although the choice for Minister is solely up to the Wizengamot, the ancient wizard council takes into account the choice of the wizarding population as a whole. Therefore, any influential members of the Ministry are already speaking out for their preferred candidate.

Minister Shacklebolt and Harry Potter have been attempting to entertain an audience with the French Minister for Magic in order to discuss how to evoke change. Potter is known for his desire for change, as he is most known for the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort. The downfall of Voldemort became the catalyst for extreme change in our government. The laws concerning the aforementioned groups (Giants, etc.) are the last of which the Wizengamont insist upon keeping intact as they were originally written in 1692 when the International Statute of Secrecy went into effect. The summit meeting, which result in the ISS had goblin, merpeople, and centaur delegates. It is the stance of the Wizengamot that the laws set into place then are still applicable today as the beings in question were allowed representation at the outset of the legislation. Minister Shacklebolt and Harry Potter both believe the time has come to reevaluate said legislation, and the marriage of his niece to Gravois is the perfect opportunity to do so.

The members of the Wizengamont asked Potter to come in this morning in order to determine his involvement in the timing of the nuptials of his niece, as well as his relationship with his new nephew-in-law. Potter stands to lose his position as Head of the Auror office if the Wizengamot determines that any untoward motivations existed or if the Head Auror planned to use his own and his familial influence to pursue the modification of our Wizarding Laws. The conclusion of the Wizengamont is unknown at this time.

Lily looked up at Teddy and Neville.

“Dominique eloped?”

“Grandmum must be having kittens,” Roxy added.

“I’d say more like baby fire breathing dragons,” Hugo grinned.

“Forget Grandmum,” Lucy shook her head, “can you imagine the wrath of Aunt Fleur?” She gasped, “Or even Victoire!” Hugo gave a low whistle and the teenagers all laughed. Teddy and Neville exchanged looks that teetered between amusement and bewilderment. Neville cleared his throat and the laughing stopped and all four pairs of eyes were on him.

“Is that all you took from that article? That your cousin eloped?”

Lily shrugged, “No, but I mean, stuff like this is always happening. Dad is in the paper a lot Neville, if you haven’t noticed.”

Her Professor raised his eyebrows at her slight cheek. “Believe me Lily, I’ve noticed,” he shook his head, “this time it’s a bit different though.”

“Although Skeeter,” Teddy rolled his eyes at her name, “has taken some liberties with this article…”

“Nothing new there,” Neville muttered, eliciting more grins from the students.

“She didn’t write it based completely on lies. Your father really did have a meeting with them this morning and the council is not pleased about the marriage at all.”

“Could dad really lose his job?”

Neville tilted his head back and forth. “It’s possible, but unlikely. I think the bigger concern is what this will mean for the Minister appointment.”

“Alright…” Hugo knitted his brows together in what Lily and Roxy called his “thinking face.” He looked as though he were in pain and the sight of it was enough to make the girls giggle. He shot them a look which only made their giggling more pronounced. “I get that this wasn’t the best time for Dom to marry the guy but I’d bet she had nothing but hearts in her eyes when she did it. There is no way this was any kind of political stunt.”

“Right,” Lucy nodded, “Dominique told us over Christmas they were talking marriage, didn’t she?” She looked at Lily and Roxy, who both nodded.

“I understand that,” Teddy sighed, “but right now any bad press for the family is going to hurt Dad’s chance of being appointed the next minister.” Teddy called Bill and Fleur “dad and mum” since he married their eldest child, Victoire. At his words, four pairs of very wide eyes met his.

“That part’s real? Uncle Bill is possibly going to be the next Minister?” Roxy finally verbalized after they all sat wide-eyed and speechless for a moment or two.

“He’s been recommended by Kingsley,” Neville said, “and he agreed to do it if it’s what the wizarding community wants.”

“But he’s not even in Politics! He works for Gringotts,” Hugo stated as if everyone in the room didn’t already know.

“Yeah, what does he know about running a government?” Roxy asked.

“A huge part of this election is the need for someone who can deal with the goblins. There have been some problems with them of late,” Teddy shook his head, “and we do not want another goblin rebellion on our hands.”

“But this makes it sound as though Dad and Uncle Bill are in love with goblins or something,” Lily rolled her eyes, “when we all know dad would rather not deal with them at all since the war.”

“True,” Neville agreed, “but it’s not just the goblins that need to be dealt with. It’s also the merpeople, giants, centaurs, and, well, werewolves,” he gave a rueful smile to Teddy.

“Which is why Dad is actually a very good choice,” Teddy said pointedly and they all got the point. Bill and Remus Lupin were friends, as close as Remus had ever been to anyone other than the marauders and possibly Kingsley. Bill had also been attacked by a werewolf and understood the plight of one as well as anyone could who wasn’t one himself.

“Since the incident at Malfoy Manor the community wants the werewolves to be dealt with differently. Although there is still a lot of prejudice from the older generation, a large part of the population is beginning to realize that werewolves are people too,” Teddy’s voice was very hopeful.

Lily’s eyes went to the floor for several seconds at the mention of that night, but only Hugo seemed to notice and he cocked his head to the side and looked at her with questioning eyes. She gave a slight shake of her head but the return look he gave her said he would want to talk later.

“Right,” Neville nodded, “although few mourned the loss of Lucius Malfoy, people understand that should have never happened. Children raised as werewolves by a werewolf to become bitter and vicious is not a cycle the Ministry or anyone else wishes to repeat. Several families of werewolves have been coming out of the woodwork in support of laws changing the way witches and wizards are dealt with following a bite.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Teddy couldn’t stop the grin on his face, “centuries of hate and prejudice are fading into the past and we’re hopeful that by working with werewolves, we can possibly eradicate them altogether.”

“How so?” Lucy asked.

“Think about it,” Teddy spread his arms wide, “if werewolves were treated like people instead of vermin, they would be more likely to take advantage of the wolfsbane potion, which would mean a great deal less people would be bitten.”

“So eventually there wouldn’t be anymore.”

“That’s the hope,” Teddy smiled wistfully. “I only wish this had happened a long time ago.”

“Of course,” Neville interjected, “there will be people who resist, so the reality of no more werewolves isn’t something we will see in our lifetime most likely, but your children might,” he grinned at them.

“I only just got a girlfriend, let’s not talk children yet,” Hugo grinned and everyone laughed. It was a nice break in the serious conversation.

“Why don’t all werewolves take advantage of wolfsbane now?” Lily spoke for the first time since the Malfoy’s were mentioned.

“The ingredients are expensive and it’s a very difficult potion to brew,” Teddy explained. “It was relatively new in my father’s later years and Harry told me that while my father was decent at Potions, he didn’t trust himself to brew it even. That’s fairly common among the wizarding population, therefore, people don’t want to chance it. A wrongly brewed potion can cause a lot of problems, possibly even death.”

The teenagers shuddered.

“So anyway, you see now why Bill is a good choice for Minister and why things are going to be tense for a while,” Neville said. “We want you to be on your guard about what you say to whom. Even in the Common Room don’t talk about family things, because you never know who might be listening.”

Hugo remembered what he and Scorpius had observed at Neville’s wedding. He didn’t know if Neville knew Rita Skeeter was an unregistered Animagus, but their professor seemed to know how easy it could be to be over heard.

“Just be careful,” Teddy said, “and if someone approaches you, say in Hogsmeade, and asks about any of this, just sat ‘no comment’ and keep walking.”

They all agreed and after goodbyes left the office. The four Gryffindors headed for the tower, but before they got there Lily pulled them all into a hidden corridor behind a painting of Ptolemy and lit her wand. She gave Hugo a nod and he quickly pulled his own wand and muttered, “Muffilato.”

“We live in a bubble, don’t we?” Lily whispered.

“What do you mean?” Roxy asked.

“Just that our parents have kept us sheltered from a lot of this stuff. I mean, how long do you think they’ve been talking about Uncle Bill being Minister? I doubt its new news.”

“Yeah,” Lucy nodded, “I’m sure they’ve known for a long time but didn’t want to tell us.”

“I wonder why?” Roxy asked.

“To shelter us from things like the press,” Hugo said, “I guarantee someone will try and get us to talk about it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have warned us.”

“Our lives have been so easy,” Lily said and kicked the wall in a fit of temper.

“What in the name of Merlin, Lils?” Roxy gaped at her cousin.

“I just realized fully how easy my life has been. Listening to them talk about dad possibly losing his job, thinking about Dom and how complicated things must be for her, then remembering New Year’s Eve….” She trailed off and there were tears in her voice. “I just never knew how well I had it until my stomach dropped when Neville said it was possible dad might lose his job.”

Lily looked up as tears actually fell from her eyes.

“You know what the first thing that flashed through my mind was at the thought of dad losing his job?” Her cousins simply shook their heads. “That I might have to buy used robes for next year,” her voice cracked. “My mind flickered to that picture of your dad,” she pointed at Hugo, “in those horrid second-hand dress robes at the Yule Ball. Seems really shallow,” she wiped her face as Hugo also put his arm around her.

Lily only nodded and sniffled, her mind on the things Scorpius had accused of her the night of their fight. The night he let his drunken mind speak freely and she began to understand what he meant, and although the way he said it wasn’t very nice, the things he had said might not have been as off the mark as she thought.

Scorpius dropped his edition of The Evening Prophet on his bed in disgust. Rita Skeeter had truly outdone herself this time. She made it sound as though Harry Potter and his family, as well as the Minister, wanted to change things in a negative way. He remembered the bitter way she dealt with Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Professor Longbottom’s wedding and he felt sick at what must be her revenge for not being allowed to cover the wedding.
It was lies. Lies that sounded just close enough to the truth to cast a shadow of doubt around Harry and his family. A new generation of wizards were emerging now, a good number of the working witches and wizards in Britain weren’t alive during the war and only had the stories of their parents and grandparents to go by. Even the history books portrayed differing views of the war and it was possible some people would believe Skeeter, especially if she followed up regularly with more slanderous writings.

He’d read his fair share of negative press regarding his family, but everything written had been true. Not that he had enjoyed reading it, but there was something very, very different about negative press that wasn’t even true. He remembered from the Christmas holidays when he sat around the table with the family and learned of Dominique’s worry over how her grandmother would take her having to move to France should she marry Pierre. Although he didn’t know her that well personally, he saw the real pain on her face and her eyes told the story of being in love and not knowing what to do about it. He knew the look because it was his own when he looked in the mirror. He had felt a connection to her that night and he would swear under oath that her marriage to Pierre had nothing to do with political aspirations and everything to do with love. For that matter he also knew why she’d eloped. To save herself the scrutiny of her family; he knew she had not married in some underhanded way to gain ground in the political arena.

His mind wandered to Lily. He’d always thought her so sheltered and he’d always assumed her life was nothing but bliss. Even if things worked out, for a time there wouldn’t be bliss in her family. Her home would be hounded by reporters day and night. She wouldn’t be able to enter the Great Hall without whispers. If she went to Hogsmeade for the last two visits of the year she would be followed by reporters either trying to get a comment from her or hoping to catch her participating in something questionable. His heart hurt thinking of the assumptions he’d made about her and he wanted to do nothing but hold her. As that was impossible, he decided he would make it his personal mission to keep others from asking her about it as much as he could, hopefully without her realizing what he was doing. He would protect her from this as best he could.

Hello! I know I'm post a lot sooner than I usually do, but I decided after not being able to post for so long I would go ahead and post again since I had it ready. It's not very long and it's pretty serious in nature, but important plot-wise. I hope you all enjoy it!

Thank you to vivjad and HogwartsWizard for leaving feedback.

Chapter Forty-Five

“…Harry Potter has his brother-in-law under the imperius curse!” A third year Ravenclaw said to her Potions Partner later that week with wide eyes. Scorpius stopped dead in his tracks and listened to the conversation, pretending to check the heat of the caldron at the table in front of them.

“I heard it’s not Potter at all, but his sister-in-law Hermione that wants the Minister post and that she’s using Bill Weasley as her puppet!” The boy answered her with a scandalous expression. These were third years! Where on earth did they hear such ridiculous notions? With a roll of his eyes Scorpius straightened and glared at the two gossipers.

“How is your Shrinking Potion coming along then?” He said with a purposeful air of a teacher who knew they weren’t working. The girl, to her credit, looked ashamed at being caught while the boy just gave Scropius a contemptuous look and shrugged. With a smirk Scorpius moved forward until he stood directly over the boy, who cowered slightly. Scorpius, not wanting to actually frighten them cocked his head to the side and smiled knowingly. “I require more of an answer than a shrug Mr. Chambers.”

“We haven’t finished yet Sir,” the girl, Emily Patten, said quietly.

“Well then I suggest you spend more time brewing and less time gossiping,” with a stern look at the both of them he turned toward the front of the class.

After twenty more minutes, Professor Timmons called for a sample of each Potion and dismissed class. While Scorpius was organizing the sample bottles (he would be testing them later that evening) his mentor sat on the corner of the desk, crossed his arms and shook his head.

“The gossip mill is cranking out the rumors, isn’t it?” Timmons said. Scorpius hadn’t been aware that the older man had heard his encounter with the students and he looked up surprised.

“Yes sir,” he knew his face showed his disgust for the rumors and Timmons mirrored it with his own look.

“I was a few years behind Harry Potter at Hogwarts; I was a third year in what should have been his seventh. I remember the night of the battle vividly. I watched older members of my house stand to defend Harry when a Slytherin girl wanted to just hand him over. I eventually stood as well, my wand out, although I don’t know how much use I could have actually been,” he smiled ruefully. “The rest is a bit hazy, but I remember being awestruck by the members of the Order of the Phoenix who I’d heard about. Before I knew it we were being escorted out through a secret passage in a room I hadn’t even known existed within the castle walls.”

“You knew about the Order?” Scorpius had never heard the man talk about his time at Hogwarts, much less mention the battle. He’d never given much thought to the man knowing anything about it.

“Of course,” he shook his head again, “in our Dark Arts class we’d heard about them, as well as Muggle Studies. Of course, the lens through which we were being told was extremely skewed because it was Death Eaters teaching it, but we heard about how the Order was rebels against the Wizarding World and how they could not be trusted.”

There was a beat of silence and Scorpius wondered if the story would continue, and he hoped it would.

“I caught snippets of conversations as we were leaving the castle and I was slightly afraid for all of those gearing up for a fight. When I got to the secret room, Ginny Weasley, now Potter was there with a woman I recognized from the pictures Carrow had shown us in Dark Arts. Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, a metamorphmagus who we had been told was one of the worst of them because her mother had left a pureblood lineage to marry a muggleborn and then she went and further besmirched the name of Wizard by marrying a werewolf,” he laughed without mirth. “The woman had the kindest expression I’d ever seen as she was telling Ginny how it had broken her heart to leave her son with his grandmother, but she couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening; that she was very worried about her husband.”
Again the man paused and Scorpius held his breath. He’d read the accounts of the battle in the books, heard some of it from his father, even heard some snippets from the Potter/Weasley clan as he’d gotten to know them this year, but this account was fascinating. A young Hufflepuff boy had overheard what was probably one of the last things Teddy Lupin’s mother ever said. Reporters would have paid a lot of money for such an account of that night.

“I then remembered that I’d seen him in the Great Hall, working alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt to get everyone organized. I almost spoke to her, but the Head boy was ushering me out the door. As I took a last quick look around the room I heard one last bit of their conversation. She said, ‘I would give my life for this cause.’ I remember thinking I hoped she didn’t since she had a child, but of course, she did,” he was looking out the window with a faraway expression of sadness on his face. “As young as I was, I knew then that gossip was foul and that the members of the Order and friends of Harry, as well as Harry himself, could be trusted beyond anything I should have been able to fathom at that age. Something in her voice and expression told me that she was someone who loved deeply and fully, and I had no doubt that she would die for this if it came to that. I still wish it hadn’t.”

Silence rang in the room as Scorpius contemplated what his mentor had said.

“Have you told Teddy that story?” he finally asked quietly.

“Yes,” Timmons nodded, “it was the moment that bonded me to that boy for life,” he smiled a genuine smile. “I love that hair-color-changing kid,” the men laughed. “Anyway, I hate gossip and I’m going to be giving out detentions from now on to people talking about the Potters or Weasleys. Skeeter really got everyone riled up with that article, didn’t she?”

“She certainly did,” Scorpius levitated the bottles of shrinking solution into a box. “I’ll test these tonight and let you know of the grades,” he said and Timmons nodded, then with a sigh turned his attention to the class of fifth years who had just entered the room.

Later that day, Lily entered the Quidditch pitch with Mike and Dana to watch the Gryffindor team practice. Now that Dana and Hugo were together her friend wanted to be at each of his practices and Mike liked to come watch Roxy. Lily couldn’t help but sigh. She supposed she was there to watch Jase, but the two of them weren’t an actual couple the same way her friends and cousins were. She watched Jase as he gave instructions to Hugo, who nodded intently and then the team was in the air.

Looking around the stadium, Lily spotted a blonde head lower on the bleachers and she felt her face flush. She looked around and noted that the only other person in the stadium was Madam Hooch, so she felt comfortable approaching him. She hadn’t sought out conversation with him since the night he had drunkenly kissed her and then pushed her away. Things for her had changed though. Rita Skeeter had changed everything with the accusations she brought to light about her family. Although her father had assured her his job was safe in a letter she’d just received that morning, her perspective on life was still altered.

She knew it was shallow to have worried over something as silly as clothing when there were real issues at hand, such as the treatment of certain magical beings; she had given everything a lot of thought over the last few days. Her father loved her and had striven to shelter her from negative press about him or their family, and he had always given her everything her heart could desire. (Within reason, of course) She now realized he couldn’t protect her from everything and she had to learn to stand on her own two feet. Something Scorpius had learned a long time ago, and she felt certain was why he was so focused on caring for his mother and grandmother. As she approached him she looked behind her to see Dana nodding encouragingly. Although Dana still didn’t know about the fight she’d had with Scorpius, her friend was very supportive of her feelings for the Slytherin Staff Member. She sat beside him, but far enough away that they looked mere acquaintances to any on lookers.

“Hi,” she said quietly keeping her eyes focused on the Quidditch players zooming here and there on their brooms. She saw him give a slight jump at the sound of her voice out of the corner of her eye.

“Hello,” he replied in a slightly tense voice as he too kept his focus on the players.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered and closed her eyes for a moment, therefore missing the gentle glance he gave her before resuming his stance of watching the practice.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he spoke quietly as well. It was obvious neither of them wanted to be overheard. “I’m the one who’s sorry Lily.”

“I didn’t understand,” she looked at her hands, “I do now.” She looked at him long enough for him to turn and meet her eyes for a second before she turned away again.

“Understand what?” If she could read his mind she would have known that his insides were as nervous as her own, and she would have known that he placed all the blame on himself.

“That you have to look out for your family, that anything with me might mean you don’t have the means to support them.”

Tears sprang to her eyes and he saw them through his peripheral vision and wanted to do nothing but wipe them away. Instead he hoped to reassure her with words.

“Lily,” he spoke her name so tenderly she couldn’t help but look up and meet his eyes, “you have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry I was turning to alcohol in an attempt to solve my problems. I’m sorry I acted the way I did.”

“It’s alright,” she whispered and then looked away again.

“It’s not,” his mouth formed a thin line as he watched Jase score. “That day I found out my grandfather handed over their home to the Ministry in part of the deal he made to keep himself out of Prison following the war. Centuries of Malfoys have lived there and he just gave it away! My grandmother has now moved in with my mother, but, none of that matter. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did.”

“I’m so sorry Scorpius,” Lily said with fervent feeling. “I had no idea.”

“I know,” he smiled sadly, “and it’s all alright now. Malfoys haven’t ever really had to work,” he gave a rueful chuckle, “but now I do. But I want to. I was jealous of you that night,” he said so quietly she almost didn’t hear him.

“Jealous of me?”

“Yes, of the fact that you’ll never have to worry about that,” he paused and made a fist with his hands. “Of course, that cow Skeeter is trying to make things bad for your family, and I could just murder her for it.”

“Please don’t,” Lily whispered and he looked up and met her eyes and for the first time since she’d sat down they held each other’s gaze. “I don’t think I could stand for you to be hauled off to Azkaban.”

She smiled and he returned it. He leaned down and pretended to pick something up and offered his hand to her as if giving her what he’d picked up. She brushed her fingers over his empty palm and felt his fingers curl around hers for only a split second. The electricity in that simple touch was enough to tempt her to flag down Jase right then and tell her she couldn’t be with him; not when she loved someone else.

“Lily?” Scorpius asked, pulling her from her thoughts of breaking up with Jase.

“Yes?” they were no longer touching and Lily wished things were different and they could actually be together.

“Could we try to be friends? I feel like we went from barely knowing each other to kissing and having this wonky unrequited love thing going on,” his cheeks glowed a slight pink and the indication they loved each other, but Lily thought he’d described their strange relationship perfectly.

“I think that’s a great idea Scorpius,” she smiled and he smiled and for the first time in a long time, neither of them felt confusion or depression; only joy.

:::::

Thanks for reading! I'd love any feedback you might wish to share with me. Thanks again!

Hello everyone! Thank you so much to vivjad, MissGryffindor, HogwartsWizard, and BrightestWitch for the lovely feedback. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! The point of view is different for this one....but it's definitely important! Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Six

The Easter holidays were in full swing and the kids had been home for a little over a week. It had been uneventful for the most part, aside from dodging reporters when they went for ice cream in Diagon Alley. In the weeks since the article, a few more similar pieces had been printed, but with no new information to slander around all the negativity had died down for the most part. Photographers and reporters still hoped to get a good photo or quote from the children of the war heroes, but between James, Louis, and Al, no one got close. Fred, for his part, made it rain orange juice on a photographer who was sneaking behind a plant outside of Flourish and Blotts when Lily and Roxy went in for a birthday gift for Dana. Luckily the reporter never saw Fred (the invisibility cloak is great even outside of school) so he couldn’t report on the event.

Dana, who had turned seventeen the second day of the holidays had had a wonderful time with her family. Her father’s brother, who lived in America, was going to be returning to England. His company sent him to the states for a five year program, and now the time was up. He, along with his wife and three children, would be moving back in the summer. Dana was thrilled. She loved each of her little cousins, being an only child, and enjoyed having a lot of family around. She was sitting in the hammock in her front garden watching them play when something very peculiar happened.

The middle child in her uncle’s family, Davis, wanted his older brother to give him the football, but Jeremy, the older brother, was taunting the younger one. He kept dribbling the ball a bit away from his brother at the last second. Davis kept tailing his brother, kicking at his shins in an attempt to retrieve the ball, but the older brother had just enough more skill to keep the ball away. Dana was thinking of intervening when Jeremy tripped and the ball went sailing toward Davis. Swiftly the younger boy took off, kicking the ball the opposite direction from his older brother.

Something about the way Jeremy tripped and how it didn’t look as though he’d actually kicked the ball at all, much less hard enough for it to go right for Davis caught Dana’s attention. There was something in the air, something she couldn’t put her finger on. In a moment she realized what it was.

Magic

She had her wand on her, but she hadn’t cast a spell in the last hour. She had to admit she had been enjoying her new freedom in using magic outside of school; showing off for her parents when they were alone in the house. With her family visiting, however, she had only cast some spells in her room for the last few days, seeing as none of them knew of her magical abilities.

She began to look around, wondering if perhaps her friends had somehow managed to visit using magic, although she was the oldest and none of them had come of age yet. Roxy would be in a few days’ time, but until then she was still under the Trace and wouldn’t be able to legally use magic. Not that that always stopped the Weasley children of course, but she felt certain the magic wasn’t coming from anyone she knew. In fact, she had only just realized there was a feeling to the air when magic was performed. The only magic she had done before entering was accidental and she hadn’t understood what was going on. Once at school, magic was so prevalent it was just a constant. She had realized once back in the muggle world, being the only witch she knew of for miles that there was a feeling to using magic. She had noticed it the times she’d performed spells since being home.

Accidental magic?

Her mind was reeling with a theory that popped into her head as she considered everything she knew about magical application and theory. She sat straight up in the hammock, almost falling from it, her eyes boring into her two cousins. Jeremy was back on his feet now and had caught up with Davis, who wasn’t in the mood to share the football with his brother. Dana understood; she’d seen Jeremy picking on Davis a lot, the older reveling in being just that: older. She felt certain Davis was plum sick of being the butt of jokes and constantly beaten at everything by his brother. She watched them carefully.

Jeremy now had the ball in his hands and she could hear Davis yelling about a hand-ball and the illegality of it. She heard Jeremy’s snotty retort about how they weren’t actually playing a game when suddenly there was a loud pop! And the ball burst into tiny pieces in Jeremy’s hands. Dana’s skin prickled with that feeling again and she felt certain of her theory now.

Without too much thought she ran to the back garden and into the shed there. She took a deep breath and turned on the spot. Although she hadn’t been allowed to take the apparition test before the holidays (missed the cut off by two days) she was confident in her abilities and without a hitch she opened her eyes and was now facing the Ottery St. Catchpole home of her boyfriend. She didn’t hesitate and ran up the front walk and used the large Lion’s head knocker to knock on the door. After a moment a young woman with flaming red hair swung the door open.

“Dana!” Rose exclaimed.

“Hi Rose,” Dana smiled, her heart still racing.

“Come in, come in,” the older girl moved aside and Dana entered the home she’d visited a few times in her school career. When she spent time with the Weasley family it was usually on the Potter side, so she’d only been to Hugo’s house a few times. Rose pulled her into a hug and grinned. “Heard you are finally with Hugo! I’m so happy for you both,” she squeezed Dana’s hand, making the younger girl give a slight blush and smile.

“Thanks Rose, me too,” she looked around as she heard someone coming down the steps. Upon closer inspection she realized it was two someone’s.

“Dana!” Hugo cried and rushed her, planting a kiss on her mouth and holding her close for a few seconds. “What are you doing here love? Did I forget that we had plans?” He looked worried and Dana had to laugh. Rose and Al, the other person coming down the stairs, also laughed.

“No, I just had to come. The most amazing thing happened this afternoon!”

“Come in and tell us all about it!” Hugo led her to the sitting room off the foyer and the four of them sat down, Dana and Hugo facing the fireplace with Rose and Al off to one side.. Dana shared what she’d seen and felt, and the three others all marveled over the situation with her.

“Is it really common for there to be more than one muggleborn in a family?” She asked.

Rose was about to say something when the front door opened and Mrs. Hermione Weasley came in, calling for Hugo and Rose to help her with the groceries. Both her children and nephew stood and quickly went to her aide. Dana, although not normally shy, suddenly felt very bashful and nervous in front of Hugo’s mother. She hadn’t seen either of Hugo’s parents on the platform the day they arrived home for Easter, so this was the first time she would be seeing her as more than a friend to her son.

“Dana’s here Mum,” Hugo said as he took a bag from his mother. Hermione turned and saw the young brunette facing her and looking nervous.

“Dana sweetheart!” She pulled the young girl into a hug and placed her hands on either side of her face when they pulled apart. “I’m so happy for you and Hugo,” she whispered and grinned at Dana. Although still slightly nervous, she couldn’t help but grin back and whisper her thanks to her boyfriend’s mother. “So, what brings you to Devon?” She motioned for her to follow and they all entered the kitchen, Dana also picking up a grocery bag.

“I was just telling Hugo that I saw my cousin perform magic today!”

Mrs. Weasley whipped around and cocked her head to the side. “Really? I thought you were muggleborn.”

“I am,” Dana shrugged, “but I’m certain…” she went on to explain the situation again and Mrs. Weasley listened carefully, interjecting a question here or there and nodding along.

“It’s not unheard of,” Mrs. Weasley said when Dana had told everything, “but it isn’t very common either. We had one set of related muggleborns at Hogwarts when we were there. The Creevey brothers; I think that’s what has me a bit skeptical. If there is more than one with magical abilities in a muggle family, it’s usually siblings, not cousins.”

“It is possible though?” Dana said hopefully. She would love to be able to share the magical part of her life with more of her family. Mrs. Weasley patted her shoulder and smiled.

“Definitely possible,” she looked thoughtful. “There is a way to know for sure. What is his name?”

“Davis Jemison.”

Without another word she went to the sitting room, Hugo, Dana, Al, and Rose all following close behind. She grabbed a handful of floo powder from the basin next to the fireplace, threw it in and stuck just her head in the fireplace. They didn’t hear what her destination was, and although Dana had heard Lily and Hugo talk about such a thing, she’d never seen someone communicate with floo powder before. It made her heart ache for the day she would live in a wizarding home all the time. After a few moments she emerged with a smile in her face.

“You’re right Dana. On the register for the upcoming school year is a muggleborn boy named David Jemison. He has been living in America, but is moving back?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Yes,” Dana was slightly taken aback at how much about him they knew. “How did you know that?”

Mrs. Weasley gave a kind smile. “Professor McGonagall and the ministry have to keep tabs on muggleborns. Every so often there is a problem that has to be addressed so they can be tracked down easily.”

“Oh,” Dana hadn’t really given much thought to the wizarding world knowing much about her life before she turned eleven. Like herself, she had thought the world didn’t know her until she was eleven, just has she hadn’t known about the world. The news Mrs. Weasley shared sunk in and she felt herself smiling broadly. “So, Davis is a wizard? He’ll be going to Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” something else Dana hadn’t thought about. His birthday was last month and he had indeed turned eleven. “You mean, he’ll be a first year my seventh year?”

“From the sound of it, yes,” Mrs. Weasley smiled. “In fact, Minerva said you could tell him and his family of Hogwarts. She asked that an adult accompany you, but she said it would save her some trouble. Apparently there are a record number of muggleborns for the coming year. She said they have already been working on the schedule for visiting them and taking
them to buy their school things.”

Dana smiled, remembering when Professor Longbottom brought her letter and explained about the wizarding world to herself and her parents. She had never thought about the need for him or another teacher to have to visit all the muggleborns every year. The same time she was talking with him, Landon and the others from their year must have been talking with others.

“With your knowledge of our world, she said there would be no need to send someone to help with the shopping since he can just go with you the day you go.”

“But I can go ahead and tell him?” She wondered how her uncle and aunt would take the news. Her parents had been shocked but supportive. She hoped Uncle Charles would be the same.

“Yes, as long as you have someone else with you. Although you are a legal witch now,” at this Hugo squeezed her arm and smiled, “someone with official clearance will have to accompany you.”

They worked out the details, deciding that Hermione Weasley would go with her that very evening to talk to her aunt and uncle. Dana felt like she was the best choice seeing as she was a muggleborn herself and understood the situation better than any of the others. Hugo also wanted to go, but his mother said no because they would be overwhelmed enough as it. So it was with excitement that he hugged her and gave her a chaste kiss (his mother was waiting only a few feet away), wishing her luck.

The thought of sharing Hogwarts and the wizarding world with Davis was extremely exciting for Dana and as she grasped Mrs. Weasley’s arm to apparate (legally this time) she felt tears form in her eyes. She wouldn’t be hiding from her family any longer. They would know who she was and how much she loved her life as a witch. She only hoped they would be accepting of the news.

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Thank you all for reading! I know it doesn't seem like it, but this fic is getting close to conclusion. Introducing Davis really makes me feel like it's almost over. Which is exciting, but also sad.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'd love to know what you think if you have moment to leave some feedback. Thanks so much!

Hello! Thank you all for reading and a HUGE thank you to all who left feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Early summer on the grounds of Hogwarts had always been a favorite time for Hugo. Everyone was so relaxed and happy the week between end of the year exams and the day they would all go home. He loved the laughter that could be heard from around the lake. He was currently waiting on Dana and watching a group of first years skipping rocks. He had one more year here and he was both excited and sad about leaving for the summer holidays. He always missed school when he was gone, although if he was honest he mostly just missed Quidditch and his friends, not the school work. The castle was a second home; a comforting place he’d come to year after year and to think that this time next year he would be leaving forever was hard to wrap around his brain.

“Hi Hugh!” He heard Dana before he saw her, as she skipped up behind him and placed a kiss on his cheek. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a kiss on the lips and she laughed and ran her hand over his cheek. “You need to shave,” she shook her head
and laughed again as he nuzzled his face against her cheek, leaving a small red patch where his stubble met her skin.

“Nah,” he shook his head as she moved around in front of him and leaned her back against his chest. “I’m thinking of just going a bit gruff until we get home. I’d love to see mum’s reaction to that.”

“Hmmm,” Dana ran her hand across his cheek again with fake thoughtfulness, “I guess I don’t mind a bit of gruff. Makes you look tough, as though you just won a Quidditch championship.” They both laughed and started chatting about their summer plans.
It was true, Gryffindor had secured the Quidditch cup a few weeks ago; beating Slyherin and reclaiming the cup.

“So, it’s about time to head for Hagrid’s,” Dana pointed out about a half hour later.

“Yes,” Hugo smiled, “Lily’s of age. The last of us; it’s really hard to believe,” he had celebrated his birthday two days before the Quidditch final and it had been a fun day. He glanced at the wizarding watch from his parents. “Let’s go, I want to be a few minutes early.”

Lily walked alone to Hagrid’s for her seventeenth birthday celebration. It was incredibly hard to believe she was a legal adult in the wizarding world now. She was excited about using magic at home, as well as taking her apparition test in a few weeks. She would be taking the test alongside Hugo, Roxy, Mike, and Dana, all of whom had also missed the cutoff for taking it before their Easter holidays all those weeks ago.

Her sixth year at Hogwarts had flown by and as she walked toward the hut where she could already make out her friends milling about conjuring balloons and other party decorations, she took stock of the year. She had entered into it feeling happy to be the only Potter left in the school and still smugly avoiding the teenage boys who showed her attention. In an interesting and unexpected turn of events she discovered her own romantic feelings for Scorpius Malfoy, of all people, who was off limits to her. The discovery and admission of those feelings had served as a strange catalyst to her beginning to date. She’d now dated Landon and Jase, two boys who were very close friends and very popular. She was happy to say that both relationships, if you could really even call them that, had ended amicably and she still had both boys as her friends. In fact, she felt she might end up with one of them as her cousin-in-law if what she saw brewing between him and Lucy was what she thought it was. She was happy for her cousin and hoped she was right about Jase. Lucy, who had a thing for Landon for a long time, now seemed interested in Jase and he seemed to return the feelings. Lily planned to have a girly catch up with Lucy as soon as they were all home again.

She looked up again and saw Hugo lean over and kiss Dana and she couldn’t stop from grinning. Those two had a rough road to a relationship; a road in which Lily had largely walked with them and that had also contributed to one of the strangest, but best, years she’d spent in the castle.

Only one more left, she thought to herself as her friends spotted her and all shouted their happy birthdays. She gave a contented sigh as Roxy pulled her by the arms into a hug.

From the steps of Hagrid’s hut Scorpius laughed softly as he watched the students make a huge fuss over Lily, the birthday girl. He’d been waiting for this day for a long time now. Ever since he realized that she was the one he wanted he’d dreamed of pulling her into his arms and kissing her on her seventeenth birthday. By the standards Professor Hackwood, his boss, had set forth for him, she was no longer off limits. She was legally an adult and he could date her if he wanted. And he did want to, and he would have if things hadn’t changed so much.

The death of his father was still a loss he felt sharply. He was still concerned about providing for his family, as he was unlike other Malfoys before him and wouldn’t take advantage of others for financial gain. He was still cunning and determined, a true Slytherin the way Slytherins would have been had they not produced more dark wizards than any other house. It was just that he also had a brain, in the end it had been his name that placed him in the house. The Sorting hat had debated about Ravenclaw, but in the end another Malfoy went to Slytherin. He hoped his own children might break the standing tradition that no Malfoy had ever been in any other house. Not that he resented the green and silver, just that it was time for a change.

His life was completely changed and with it, change had also occurred within himself. He would care for his mother and grandmother in the way he best knew how. He had plans for his future, but this year had taught him that planning can only go so far. As the saying went, life happened when you were busy making plans, and for him nothing could be more on the mark. He had plans, but he wouldn’t soon forget that his plans were just a tentative outline of the future and not what would actually happen. The redhead standing a few feet from him laughing as her cousin put a silly birthday hat atop her head would serve as a constant reminder of just that.

Although his family might disagree, Teddy Lupin was not completely oblivious to the feelings of others. He’d always had a bit of a knack for reading the Potter children, as well as a few Weasleys. Over the course of the year he’d also gotten to know Scorpius well enough that he saw the love in their eyes. Wouldn’t it be something for his god sister to end up with a Malfoy? It would shock a few people in the community that much he knew. But he could see it. They were well suited for each other. He smiled to himself, already looking forward to the following year, which just might top the one they were leaving behind in regards to interesting events.

The small party was beginning to wind down and everyone’s thoughts were turning toward dinner in the Great Hall when he approached her.

“Happy Birthday again,” he smiled and she returned it, a small blush in her cheeks that he hadn’t seen in a while. A small knot formed in his stomach, his mind briefly wandering to what she was expecting him to say.

“Thanks Scorpius,” she waved to Teddy and Neville who were leaving together. “I’ve had a great day,” she pointed to her ears, “look at the diamond earrings my parents sent me.”

Her face glowed and she looked happier than he’d seen her in a long time. There was a breeze blowing her hair away from her face and her eyes were shining. Beauty and love practically radiated out from her, a smile on her lips and a slight blush still in her cheeks she was absolutely…

“Lovely,” he murmured.

“Thank you! They really are, aren’t they?"

It took him a moment to realize he’d spoken aloud and she thought he meant her earrings. He smiled.

“Yes, they look lovely Lily,” they were distracted by Mike and Roxy, who talked with Lily a moment before leaving for the castle. She looked back at him and smiled again. He took a breath and returned her smile. “I was wondering if we could talk. May I walk you back to the castle?”

“Sure,” she thanked Hagrid for hosting the get together, and they set off. For a few minutes they walked in a contented silence. They were about halfway to the castle when he finally spoke.

“I’ve waited for today all year,” he spoke sincerely and quietly. She nodded and gave a shy smile. “In my planning I was going to sweep you off your feet and kiss you, declaring my love for you and finally asking you out.”

She could feel the but coming and her heart hurt at the anticipation of it. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, to see the rejection in his eyes so she just kept on walking.

“As you know, my life changed drastically on New Year’s eve.”

“Yes,” she nodded and willed the tears not to come. He pulled her arm and she stopped. They were facing each other now and what she saw in his eyes wasn’t rejection; it was a love she hadn’t expected that was masked by a look of pain. He looked up, toward the castle and gave a sad smile.

“I had a meeting this morning with Professor Hackwood,” he paused and met her eyes again. “I applied for and got Madame Hooch’s post as Flying teacher.”

The pain and sadness that had begun welling in her heart since he started talking vanished as quickly as it had come. She moved toward him, intent on throwing her arms around him, but she stopped short and instead gave an awkward double armed fist pump.

“Scorpius! That is AMAZING! Congratulations!” She shouted and jumped on the spot to show her excitement. He laughed.

“Thank you Lily,” he laughed some more and she joined in, neither of them knowing exactly what actions were appropriate. After a moment or two he turned somber again. “It is wonderful and amazing, and I’m very happy. It does, however, change my plans.”
It hit her all of a sudden that as an official teacher he couldn’t date a student, regardless of her legal age or not. She turned somber as well and nodded.

“I understand Scorpius,” she whispered and she was surprised that she actually did understand. She was sad, but not angry. She
couldn’t begrudge his finding a job that would help him support his family. It was the best decision for him and she wouldn’t let her feelings put a damper on this wonderful news for him. “I’m so proud of you,” she spoke only slightly louder than before.

“Thank you,” he also whispered and looked away rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “You don’t need to wait for me,” he said and met her eyes. “I want you to be happy Lily.”

“I know you do, thank you,” she wanted to tell him she would wait, that they could be together next summer, but something stopped her. She knew life would be what it was and that not even Trelawney, the old Divination teacher, didn’t know the future; she would have to let come what would come and be alright with that. She smiled at him. “I want that for you too.”

“Yes, thank you,” he also smiled. They continued on to dinner in silence and when they parted ways, him for the staff table and her for the Gryffindor one, it felt as though they were parting for more than dinner. It felt like they were parting forever.

:::::

First of all, thank you so much for reading! I appreicate it so much. If you have a moment, I'd love some feedback. Thanks so much!

Second of all....I know this post is short. There was more to it, but I decided to split them at the last minute and the rest will be at the beginning of the next chapter. After reviewing it just felt right to leave off there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Hello everyone! If anyone still stops by to read this story, that is. I just didn't love this story and where it was going, but here are some snapshots of Lily and Scorpius. I will post the final chapter later this week! Thank you!!!!!

Snapshots of Their Lives

“Head Girl?” Lily jumped at the voice behind her. Although he was obviously around, she hadn’t spoken to Scorpius since returning to school. Turning, she took in the smile stretched across his face and couldn’t help but smile back. “Congratulations Miss Potter, you deserve it.”

“Thank you Professor Malfoy, it came as a slight shock if I’m honest,” she took a deep breath.

Although she had seen him over the summer (he had developed an unlikely friendship with James), she hadn’t been this close to him in a long time. And that was saying something, since they could have easily fit another person or five in the space between them. His hair, although still blonde, seemed to be taking on a darker color, more like his mother’s. She liked the regal and distinguished look it gave him. Add in his flying clothes and he was a sight for sore eyes.

“A shock? You must be joking; you were by far the best choice. Mike makes a perfect Head Boy as well. You two seem to make a great team.”

“Thank you Sir,” she blushed at the term, but to her he was a superior and she would treat him as such.

“I daresay there were a few other students who didn’t care much for two Gryffindors obtaining the titles,” he raised his eyebrows and she knew by the humor dancing in his eyes whom he was referring to.

“You are correct Sir, and I’d venture to guess you know exactly who that would be.”

“Yes, I suppose Mr. Corner is keeping his mouth shut however, since you could now take his points and his time away with detention.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at the memory of Richard’s indigence on the train when he learned that not only were Lily and Mike the new Heads, but that Hugo was Quidditch Captain and Landon had taken over Hugo’s post as Gryffindor Seventh Year Prefect.

“My dad told me it was the first time since my grandparents were Head Boy and Girl that two students from the same House were chosen,” she glanced at her badge and smiled thinking of Lily Evans wearing a similar one her final year of school.

“I’m proud of you,” Scorpius whispered and their eyes met and in that moment they both knew. Nothing had changed. The feelings were there, if not stronger than before, and they still couldn’t act on it.

“Thank you,” she whispered in return and gave a nod of her head. “I’ve got to get back to rounds. Mike and I just split up to save time tonight. We’ve got a Runes exam in the morning we need to study for.”

“Runes?” Scorpius cocked his head to the side. “I thought you were going into Healing. Is that subject required?”

“No,” Lily shook her head and gave a smile that said she wasn’t telling him everything, “but I love it so I’m keeping at it this year.”

“Well, good luck then,” he smiled and she returned it and they both went on their way, her in the direction of her common room and he to his office.

*****

From her vantage point she could see Scorpius walking in-between two lines of First Years, all with brooms in their hands. He was lecturing, she could tell and she couldn’t help but smile. It was almost Christmas, which meant this Flying lesson was about the dangers of flying in inclement weather and what to do if it was necessary to do so. An involuntary shiver went up her spine at the memory of this lesson in her first year. Dana, still a timid muggleborn, hadn’t handled the magical wind Madam Hooch had conjured and had crashed into the side of the castle. And they had only been flying two feet from the ground. At the memory of Hugo rushing to her side, Lily shivered again, but this time from the feeling of love and fate already surrounding them at such a young age.

He could feel her watching him and wished she would leave. Although he enjoyed seeing her, which had been a rarity this term, he was trying to give a lecture and he’d stumbled over his words twice since she’d shown up. Without looking directly at her he saw her give a wave and knew whomever she had been waiting for had arrived. He shook his head back into focus and looked at the small and sweet first year Ravenclaw in front of him.

“That’s great Miss Harrison, just like that,” he smiled at the young girl and moved onto the boy beside her, who he had to strive not to favor. The boy, a Gryffindor, was bright and extremely kind to the other students. Scorpius had been surprised to learn he was a muggleborn, then even more surprised when he learned from Teddy that he was Dana’s cousin. He seemed to have a natural knack for flying and Scorpius already felt certain the Gryffindor team would be in his hands one day.

“Look, like this,” he was saying to the boy he stood next to. “Use your dominate hand,” he indicated his right and the smiled at the boy who looked confused. “The hand you write with,” Davis grinned and the other boy, Grant Lewis, grinned back and moved his left hand to the proper position.

“Watch it Davis,” Scorpius said with a chuckle in his voice, “if you keep up such wonderful teaching within my class I’ll be out of a job.”

“And we don’t want that,” Hugo said from behind them with a laugh. Before he even turned Scorpius knew Lily would be standing there. Hugo must have been who she waved to.

“I’m only joking Dave, no worries, I have a feeling Professor Malfoy will be here a long time.”

With two matching grins he and Lily kept going, from the looks of it for a visit with Hagrid. She had walked several paces when she turned and caught Scorpius watching her walk away. She smiled and he returned it, and then got back to his lesson.

*****

“Dance with me?” The whispered request sent shivers up her spine. Turning she saw his smiling face and smiled in return.

“Of course,” Lily held out her hand and Scorpius took it gingerly and wrapped an arm around her waist. They danced in silence for several seconds, both looking around the room.

James Sirius Potter was now a married man. Wizards from the Department of Law Enforcement stood around the perimeter of the wedding scene, keeping reporters at bay. A high profile wedding such as this required them. The eldest son of the hero of the wizarding world and the only daughter of the Minister for Magic attracted not only the likes of Rita Skeeter, but reporters from all over the world.

“Your family puts on quite a show for a wedding,” Scorpius said quietly, although not directly into her ear. He wasn’t holding her close enough for that. Lily laughed quietly.

“Yes, although I think the bride in this case constituted most of this glamor. Genevieve has always loved anything glamorous,” she shrugged, “and this is what the world expects for the Ministers only child.”

“Yes and no,” she smiled sadly. “It’s hard to believe I’ll be done this year.”

“I remember how that felt,” he started to inquire about her future plans but was interrupted by Al, who was about to make a speech. They stopped dancing, and she was waved over to her mother, who needed her for some task or another. It almost hurt him that he didn’t know of her plans. Although he and Hugo were still good friends, as well as he and James, the subject of Lily was one they avoided. Her name was scarcely spoken in his presence so he knew nothing of what the future held for her. He only hoped there was a chance for him to be a part of it.

*****

THREE YEARS LATER

“Is she really coming for the wedding?” He couldn’t help it, missing her occupied a good portion of his time.

“Yes,” Hugo smiled, “and from her letters she seems just as eager to see you as you seen to see her.”

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.

“It’s been a long time, too long, since I’ve even heard from her.”

“Yet you’re still pining away for her.”

“Yeah, something like that,” he winced as Madam Malkin poked him with a needle. The seamstress was ancient and he wondered why she was even still making robes.

“Well, I don’t know what the official wedding term is, but you’ll be escorting her back up the isle after Dana and I are married.”

He didn’t know what his face looked like, but it must have been humorous because Hugo laughed out loud.

“It will be fine, mate, trust me,” Hugo laughed again then turned to greet Mike, who had just entered the shop.

Would it be fine? He’d had the feeling Hugo was keeping something from him for a while now, something big about Lily. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something else going on. He still worked at Hogwarts and loved his job there. He was still the flying instructor, and he loved it so much he no longer thought of being a Potions Master one day. He loved working with the first years and the Quidditch teams. It was a true joy seeing them flourish on a broom.

Lily had said goodbye to him without fanfare, in a letter he received after she’d already left. He’d felt hurt that Hugo and James hadn’t told him, but they both said she insisted and they promised her. She’d gone on a type of grand tour, something no one did any longer. Hers was related to work, however, as she’d changed her mind from Healing to working with Runes. She was traveling around the world and from what he’d heard, loving it. Dana had let slip once that she hadn’t dated anyone, although Richard Corner had shown some interest. He laughed at the thought. Even though he was also in the Runes program Lily was, thinking she would date him after all that happened at Hogwarts was downright stupid on Corner’s part. Scorpius could only imagine what Lily would have said to him.

Now, he would be seeing her tomorrow. His stomach was in knots just thinking of it.

****
Thank you so very very much for reading! I truly appreciate you each reading this story. I hope you enjoyed the snapshots of their lives and I will post the final chapter this week! THANK YOU! I'd love to know what you think....feedback here.

Here is the final update!!!! Thank you so much for reading!!!! (Yes...this post is slightly cheesy...I'm aware. )

The wedding was well underway, Hugo and Dana having happily said their vows and bonded to one another for life. The crowd of people dancing in the center of the large tent seemed to be having the time of their lives. Lily hadn’t seen most of them in years and it was fun to catch up with her school friends. She had given a toast to her cousin and best friend, reminding them of all the times they shared together at Hogwarts. She was so happy to see them married and about to begin their lives together, although a pang still plagued her that Mike and Roxy had broken up a year after graduation. Although they both seemed very happy and had thankfully remained friends, the romantic, sentimental part of Lily had wished they would be together forever as well. Life wasn’t like that though, and most of the time you didn’t marry the person you loved at Hogwarts. Teenagers fall in and out of love as if it were an easy thing to do, and over the years since she’d been gone she had lain awake many nights wondering if she would be an exception. She had fallen hard for a boy at school and he had been off limits. There were no limitations to the possibilities for them now though. She had felt exhilarated when he held her arm to walk her back up the aisle. He had whispered a request to talk privately after the toasts had been said and the cake had been cut. So with a wave to Mike, whom she had been dancing with, she left the tent and entered the back garden of her grandparent’s home, affectionately called The Burrow. He was already waiting by the fence, his still blonde hair emitting a soft glow in the moonlight. He smiled as she approached him, his eyes unreadable in the darkness.

“Lily,” he put his arms out and without a word she was in his embrace. The warmth of his touch spread to her toes bringing a smile to her face like one from her school days. She had been happy on her tour, of course, but she hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

“Scorpius,” she whispered his name into his chest and took a deep breath, “it’s incredible to see you.”

“And you,” he lightly pulled back from her and their eyes met. His looked both happy and confused all at once. “It’s been so long; I don’t think I imagined this meeting properly either. My heart is about to pound out of my chest.” He gave a nervous laugh and she returned it.

“Mine as well,” she gave him a sheepish smile then laughed and gave a little girl squeal. “It’s so good to see you!” She pulled him back into another hug and tightened her arms around his torso. They stood there for a long moment and then he pulled back again and let his arms drop to his sides.

“Why Lily?” His face had changed to sadness and her heart hurt at the confusion she had caused within him. “Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Did you think I would begrudge you the experience?”

“No, no, not at all,” she shook her head fiercely and grabbed both his hands in hers. “I just needed to see the world. I needed to understand why I fell for you so hard and fast when we barely knew one another before my sixth year.”

He leaned his back against the fence and she moved closer to him, still holding his hands but not touching anywhere else. She squeezed his hands and smiled; he nodded to her, encouraging her to continue.

“It all happened so fast. I had ever dated anyone and before I knew it I had given my heart away to you. It was scary. Of course you remember all the challenges we faced that year,” she gave a rueful smile.

“Oh yes,” he chuckled without humor. “It was as though the fates were against us at every turn.”

“Yes,” she smiled radiantly, “but I’ve come to believe just the opposite.”

“What?” Scorpius was taken off guard she could tell and although she tired she couldn’t suppress a small

“Don’t you see?” She looked into his eyes but hers seemed to be looking past him, reliving the memories in her mind. She smiled and squeezed his hands again. “It was fate that brought us together. That’s the only explanation for how hard and fast we fell for each other.” She had fretted over this part. Had he fallen as hard for her? After many sleepless nights she finally found peace in the realization that he had. It just hadn’t been the right time.

“Fate?” He seemed skeptical but she felted reassured that he didn’t argue that he had also fallen hard for her. “Fate would have had us get together while I was still a student and it was alright to do so!”

“No! No, Scorpius, no. It wasn’t the right time while we were at school. If we’d gotten together then you would never have been allowed to work at Hogwarts and think how things would be different if you hadn’t.”

He thought on it and where she was going began to clear in his mind.

“Think of everything that happened that year. Both at Hogwarts and outside it; we had a lot of growing up to do before we could be together. Only fate could have known we weren’t ready while we were at school. Fate allowed us to love each other from afar so we would understand love all the more.”

“So when it was our time we’d be ready without any hesitation,” he inched closer to her, pulling her toward him by putting one hand on the small of her back and continuing to hold onto the other one.

“If we could go through all we went through and come out still loving each other even now?” They were nose to nose, “That’s love.”

“True love,” he whispered.

“Fated love,” she whispered back and then he kissed her with a kiss they had both been longing for. After a moment they pulled back, both smiling.

“It’s almost as if it happened by accident,” Lily said with a small laugh.

“Accidentally in love,” he chuckled, “that will be something to tell our grandkids.”

*****
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